"Natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout theworld, every variation, even theslightest; rejecting that which isbad, preserving and adding up all that is good; silently andinsensibly working, whenever and wherever opportunity offers, at theimprovement of each organic being in relation to its organic andinorganic conditions of life"
- Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species
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Charles Darwin wrote these words 150 years ago to describe whatis now generally acknowledged as the central organizing principle ofmodern biology: natural selection
In other words, this is how life works, whether we like it or
not...
In fact,
here's a quick summary of reality:
Human beings, like all animals, are the sole product of billions of years of
random, mindless biological evolution. Had the dinosaurs not been wiped out
by an asteroid 65 million years ago, I would not be here typing this note.
The same would true if one (or both) of my parents had died in an accident
before they produced me.
The human mind is purely biological - solely the result of Darwinian
selection. Being
an extremely complex,
pattern-seeking organ (and still relatively unaccustomed to
newly-acquired consciousness), it is for the greater part confused, it relies
heavily on 'back-projection',
and is of course expert at wishful thinking.
It is highly unlikely that
human beings or any other animals have an immaterial or spiritual nature to
them, just as it is highly unlikely that any spiritual or immaterial realms
exist anywhere in the Cosmos. For similar reasons, it is highly unlikely
that any personal or impersonal god exists anywhere in the Cosmos. If such a
being really existed, science would have produced at
least some tangible evidence by now.
When a human being dies, that person's mind ceases to exist.
Death is an endless, dreamless sleep, where
'one exists only in the memory of others, which is why it is not an end but
a beginning'
Darwin survey shows international
consensus on acceptance of evolution
A British Council poll into awareness of Charles Darwin and
attitudes towards evolution has found that there is a broad international
consensus of acceptance towards his theory of evolution.
1 July 2009
The British Council, the UK’s international body for cultural relations,
announced the results of its global survey at the World Conference of
Science Journalists (WCSJ) in London on Tuesday 30 June, 2009, as part of
its international programme Darwin Now, to mark the publication of Charles
Darwin’s groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection on 24 November, 1859.
The research, conducted by Ipsos MORI, surveyed over ten thousand adults
across ten countries worldwide including Argentina, China, Egypt, India,
Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Great Britain and the USA.
The results show that the majority of people polled have heard of Charles
Darwin with the highest levels of awareness in Russia (93%), Mexico (91%),
Great Britain (91%), and China (90%) whilst less than half of people polled
in Egypt (38%) and South Africa (27%) saying they had not heard of him.
Overall, the majority (70%) of people surveyed have heard of the British
naturalist.
Adults in the United States (84%) showed the highest levels of awareness and
understanding of evolution and Darwin’s theories followed by Great Britain
(80%) saying they had a ‘good or some knowledge’ of the theory of evolution
In all countries polled more people agreed than disagreed that it is
possible to believe in a God and hold the view that life evolved on Earth by
means of natural selection at the same time, with those in India most likely
(85%) to be of this opinion, followed by Mexico (65%), Argentina (63%),
South Africa, Great Britain (54%), USA, Russia (53%), Egypt, Spain (45%),
and China (39%).
In six out of ten countries the majority of people who had heard of Charles
Darwin and know something about his theory of evolution agreed with the view
that there is enough scientific evidence that exists to support the theory
against an overall average of 54 percent.
Only Russia (48%), USA (42%), South Africa (41%) and Egypt (25%) remained
sceptical about the scientific evidence that exists to support Darwin’s
theory.
The results also show that a significant proportion of those people surveyed
in the USA, South Africa and India (43%) believe that all life on Earth,
including human life, has always existed in its current form.
In all other countries, people in China (74%), Mexico (69%), Argentina
(68%), Great Britain (63%) Russia, Spain (56%), and Egypt (52%) were of the
view that more people thought that life on Earth, including human life,
evolved over time either by a process guided by God or as a result of
natural selection in which no God played a part.
Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker, Head of the British Council Darwin Now programme,
said: ‘The international Darwin survey has thrown up some very interesting
results, especially as it includes data from countries not previously
covered before. The most encouraging aspect of the survey shows that whilst
there are diverse views on Darwin’s theory of evolution, there appears to a
broad acceptance that science and faith do not have to be in conflict.
Whilst the results show that there is some way to go in communicating the
evidence of evolutionary theory to wider audiences, it is evident that there
is clear space for dialogue on this sometimes complex area of debate.’
The survey is now open to the public in each of these countries and can be
completed by visiting the survey online. Over the coming months, this survey
will create the largest data set ever gathered on the public’s understanding
of evolutionary theory.
A Special Letter:
As I write this column, I'm flying from San Francisco to New York Cityfor three days of meetings at the American Museum ofNatural History onbringing the latest
scientific data to the public via museums and
planetariums. I look forward to working with my colleagues. I'm also eagerto gaze again at their stunning collection of fossils and to travel
todistant locations in our universe at the Rose
Center and the HaydenPlanetarium, the museum's
digital planetarium. Both the fossil dinosaurs and
the immersive planetarium environment present concrete evidence thatevolution is pervasive throughout the natural world.
The universe evolved from the Big Bang to systems of galaxies, stars, andplanets; these, including Earth, continue to evolve.Astronomers are teasingout the role of
dark matter and dark energy. Life on Earth goes back atleast 3.5 billion years as evidenced by fossilized stromatolites fromAustralia. Over that vast span of time, there's evidence that life
evolvedfrom small single celled-organisms to the
incredible diversity we see today.Scientific
research continues to discover additional evidence that supportsevolution as the fundamental description for how the physical
universe andlife developed in the past and will
continue to change in the future.
Yet, teaching evolution remains controversial in America.
Just now, I'm cruising at 35,000 feet above the snow-laced landscape. Thetexture of the ground below reveals the power of geologic forces. InCalifornia, Los Angeles moves inexorably toward San Francisco at3.5 cm per year. Anyone who has experienced anearthquake has a personalunderstanding of
the forces that drive geological evolution. At altitude,the folds, rifts and fault lines reveal an evolving planet. In what's
calledthe range and basin region, the western
mountain chains thrust upward andgreat valleys
drop between them. The vast central plains stretch slowlydownhill toward the East Coast from the heights of the Rockies. Over
time,the ancient inland ocean receded, revealing
most of what is now the centerof our continent.
More than erosion and weathering shaped this land. As thetectonic plates push and grind together, our planet evolves. It takes
a longtime, but it makes sense when seen from an
airplane window.
Teaching the age and history of our planet takes us back about 4.6 billionyears; it is included in only 55% of our 50 State's science educationstandards.
Today, we find the fossil remains of extinct creatures that wandered theshores of the ancient American sea high in the Rockies and layered in
thebadlands of the US and Canada. The evolution
of life on our planet isevident in these layers
of rock and fossil. In Africa, fossil evidence of
early hominids links us to ancestral species. Where did we come from? We sixbillion humans find our biological genesis in these African fossils.
Human evolution is included in the National Science Education Standards andthe Benchmarks for Science Literacy, our national statements of thefundamental science concepts for grades K-12. The Standards and
Benchmarksdescribe the basics for scientifically
literate citizens. At the statelevel, politics
overtake science education. Human evolution is included inonly 8% of the state science standards, and is therefore not required
inalmost all American elementary, middle or high
school science courses.
("The Emphasis Given to Evolution in State Science
Standards: A lever for Change in Evolution Education?"Gerald Skoog, Kimberly Bilica, 2002) The evolution of the universe,
oursolar system, and our planet fare somewhat
better, but still do not appear
in almost half of the states' science standards. These standards drive thecontent of textbooks and state achievement tests, and learning aboutevolution is getting left out.
Evolution is fundamental to modern biology, geology and astronomy. Ignoringor discarding fundamental scientific understandings of the natural
worlddoes not prepare our children well for the
future. As America strives to"leave no child
behind," it's time that evolution is not left behind in ourscience classrooms.
Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin
Darwin was born February 12, 1809; he published Origin of the Species at age50. Each year, Darwin's birthday is celebrated around the world. To
find anevent in your area, check the "Darwin Day
Celebration" website:
-
Edna Devore,
11 Feb 2005, Director of Education and
Public Outreach, SETI Institute
Those who cavalierly reject the Theory of Evolution, as not adequately
supported by facts, seem quite to forget that their own theory is supported
by no facts at all - Herbert Spencer
(1820-1903)