Human evolution; "Little foot's" balance mechanism (Introduction)

by dhw, Friday, February 01, 2019, 13:57 (2120 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: Of course life has to survive or it stops. Once more: I see TWO driving mechanisms in your scenario: 1) Your God as the creator is the driving force behind life and evolution. 2) The reason for his designing all the innovations, lifestyles and natural wonders is to ensure that life SURVIVES. The reason for doing something is a driving force. Concrete example: if, as you believe, your God designed pre-whale fins, the reason for his doing so was to enable the pre-whale to improve its chances of survival in the water. How can you possibly argue that the reason for doing something is not a driving force?

DAVID: Wrong nuance of meaning. When you drive your ancient VW you are careful not to crash. That is caution about necessary survival. God drives evolution with the same caution about survival of the organism s created.

I don’t think this image helps us very much, but hey ho. The driving force behind the design of brakes, lights, windscreen wipers, seat belts etc. was to improve my chances of survival (and those of other drivers, pedestrians etc.) as I go hurtling along through streets, traffic, darkness, rain and snow. Meanwhile, back to your hypothesis, in which the driving force behind your God’s design of fins, camouflage and migration routes was to improve survival chances for whales, cuttlefish and monarch butterflies, just as apparently he designed my late wife’s pelvis, my hunter’s/escaper’s legs, and now even our skin colour (see below) to improve our chances of survival. Yes, if your God exists he is the driving force behind life and evolution. But why do you refuse to acknowledge that the purpose behind a design is also a driving force?

Under “skin color”
QUOTES: "Why is folate so important? The nutrient plays a role in DNA activities, but its major impact is on evolutionary fitness — one’s ability to survive and reproduce — through fetal development.

"[..] vitamin D became a problem. Like folate, this vitamin is important for evolutionary fitness. It facilitates absorption of calcium, necessary for healthy bones and immunity.

"A range of skin colors evolved at different times, in different populations, as human spread across the globe. In addition to these genetic biological changes, groups have also developed cultural adaptations to deal with variable sunlight. For instance, we can consume diets rich in folate and vitamin D. We can also build shelters, wear clothing and slather sunscreen to block UV rays."

All of which make it crystal clear that the purpose is survival. The driving force behind our building of shelters, our clothes and our sunscreen is our desire to improve our chances of survival, and likewise the driving force behind variations of skin colors.

DAVID: These studies certainly appear to explain why our species adapted light or dark skin. Since folate is so important to reproduction, I would suspect it was more of a driving force than Vitamin D in producing this adaptation. (dhw’s bold)

And so the requirement for folate to aid reproduction was a “driving force”. Just like the requirement for fins to aid swimming etc. etc. Crystal clear again.