Question:
Does the theory of human evolution contribute in the progress of Science? In what ways?
anonymous
2010-08-10 19:31:08 UTC
human evolution , a Science? I don't think so!
Eight answers:
anonymous
2010-08-12 09:23:38 UTC
It Doesn't Evolutionary scientists mock creation and/or intelligent design as unscientific and not worthy of scientific examination. In order for something to be considered a “science,” they argue, it must be able to be observed and tested; it must be “naturalistic.” Creation is by definition “supernatural.” God and the supernatural cannot be observed or tested (so the argument goes); therefore, creation and/or intelligent design cannot be considered science. Of course, neither can evolution be observed or tested, but that does not seem to be an issue with evolutionists. As a result, all data is filtered through the preconceived, presupposed, and pre-accepted theory of evolution, without alternate explanations being considered.



However, the origin of the universe and the origin of life cannot be tested or observed. Both creation and evolution are faith-based systems in regards to origins. Neither can be tested because we cannot go back billions (or thousands) of years to observe the origin of the universe or of life in the universe. Evolutionary scientists reject creation on grounds that would logically force them to also reject evolution as a scientific explanation of origins. Evolution, at least in regard to origins, does not fit the definition of “science” any more than creation does. Evolution is supposedly the only explanation of origins that can be tested; therefore, it is the only theory of origins that can be considered “scientific.” This is foolishness! Scientists who advocate evolution are rejecting a plausible theory of origins without even honestly examining its merits, because it does not fit their illogically narrow definition of “science.”



If creation is true, then there is a Creator to whom we are accountable. Evolution is an enabler for atheism. Evolution gives atheists a basis for explaining how life exists apart from a Creator God. Evolution denies the need for a God to be involved in the universe. Evolution is the “creation theory” for the religion of atheism. According to the Bible, the choice is clear. We can believe the Word of our omnipotent and omniscient God, or we can believe the illogically biased, “scientific” explanations of fools.



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (1 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mxXICZ9mXo



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (2 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMWGgY6wT30&feature=related



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (3 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKbgIr6ngE&feature=related



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (4 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haDsxjsGP0A&feature=related



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (5 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmlLjs2rHpI&feature=related



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (6 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCqRcMXVC5o&feature=related



Darwin's Deadly Legacy (7 of 7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWdA6-m4ZxQ&feature=related



The Battle for the Beginning

By: John MacArthur

http://www.christianbook.com/the-battle-for-the-beginning/john-macarthur/9780785271598/pd/71597?event=AFF&p=1011693&



Creation In The 21st Century - Planet Earth Is Special 1 of 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8xtXRI6OE



Creation in the 21st Century - Amazing Design (1 of 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2d2yo8fbuo
I believe you owe me $5
2010-08-10 19:53:48 UTC
How doesn't it? By learning about our ancestors we can know more how we came to be, we can learn about ourselves and what we really are. The word science means knowledge, and we are gaining knowledge from studying our ancestors, so therefore it is science. Basically if someone wants to seek knowledge on a topic it's called science. It can be the science of designing a building (architecture) or the science of space (astronomy). I should also mention that the main sciences also use the scientific method.



1. Define the question

2. Gather information and resources (observe)

3. Form hypothesis

4. Perform experiment and collect data

5. Analyze data

6. Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis

7. Publish results

8. Retest (frequently done by other scientists)



The study of human evolution is called paleoanthropology, it a study that you gain knowledge from and it uses the scientific method, so therefore it is a science.
?
2016-10-25 04:31:46 UTC
The chains of prepared faith are as reliable as ever very last I checked. Darwin did not replace that, nor did he attempt. Darwin replaced into an excellent scientist for his time seeing that he worked at the same time as there replaced into no information of genetics, DNA, mollecular biology etc. And even besides the undeniable fact that Darwin replaced into in basic terms before his time no human being believes in evolution because of Darwin. We have self belief in evolution because of large body of evidence - maximum of which Darwin ought to hardly have imagined. We in common words communicate about Darwin immediately because he pointed the way. He replaced right into a pioneer.
Smeghead
2010-08-11 08:16:38 UTC
The vast majority of human medicine that we have today would be completely useless if evolution wasn't a fact. Medical discoveries are made first in model organisms like fruit flies or mice, and then transferred into humans. If there were no evolutionary relationship between them, this process would be a complete waste of time, because there would be no reason to expect to find similar molecules in different species.
Nimrod
2010-08-10 23:01:16 UTC
And believing that we were created by magic tells us so much more. That's helped science so much. [Sarcasm for the irony impared.]
Joseph Uchiha
2010-08-11 11:13:42 UTC
Only part of Evolution (Micro evolution) is legit



Micro evolution:

Evolution that only uses traits available within the species and always results in less genetic material over time.



Example: Say there was only one kind of duck and said duck would be either Red or Blue upon birth. Red ducks' feathers kept very hot temperatures from harming them and Blue Ducks' feathers kept very cold temperatures from harming them. If the ducks are placed in extreme temperatures that their feathers don't protect them from they will die. Lets say that the entire population of ducks was placed in a desert then the Red ducks, who's feathers protected them from the heat, would survive through to the next generation. The Ducks micro evolved into Red ducks.



What I find silly is Macro Evolution:

Evolution in which a mutation results in more genetic information that makes a species better adapted to its environment.



Example: The same ducks as before are all white. Within the species one duck mutates and Gain an extra "Blue Gene" which caused it to be born with blue feathers. The Duck passes these Genes on for several generations and then there is an Ice Age. Only the Ducks who inherited the "Blue Gene" survive the Ice Age. Several More positive gene-adding mutations take place over millions of years and eventually the Duck is now a Blue Moose.



The problem is that mutations ALWAYS result in less information. A single Cell couldn't have evolved into a human. Why? It would have had to received more DNA in order to become more complicated.



The evolutionary "leftovers" don't mean that we are distantly related to Monkeys and Lizards. It just means that our ancestors had similar adaptations and when those adaptations were no longer needed, we all just micro evolved ourselves out of them.



No one has found any transitional fossils to support their statement. According to my school's science textbooks. The deeper that you dig, the older the fossil you find. If the monkeys really turned into people then we would have THOUSANDS of transitional fossils to show to people as proof. Micro Evolution is good science. Macro Evolution is wishful thinking at best. I commend you for your willingness to speak your mind in spite of possible retaliation. I admire that.





Extra info:

I believe in a creator because DNA is to complicated to have happened by chance and I believe in the God of Christianity because the Christians who actually follow the Bible and don't just make things up have the supernatural evidence and material evidence to back up their claims (Basically, if a man says he can do ten things and proves to you that he can do 9 of them, then he can probably do the tenth thing as well. The tenth thing being salvation) Dear asker, I strongly recommend you try God out. He is both loving and logical and very worth your Time. If you won't take my word for it there is a link below that can quench any thirst for evidence of his absolute existence.

Source(s):

The New Answers Book: general editor Ken Ham, www.proofthatgodexists.org
secretsauce
2010-08-11 00:27:35 UTC
There are two central, *unifying* concepts that unite all of modern biology ... cell theory, and evolution.



To take a simple example ... why do we need a new flu shot every year? Why doesn't last-year's flu shot work for this years flu viruses anymore? Answer: Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. Last-year's flu viruses adapted to an environment with last-year's flu shot. Those viruses with a small immunity to the flu shots are precisely the ones that survived to replicate more viruses with the same traits. So last-year's flu shot is not as effective.



In other words, without Darwin's theory of evolution, we would be ineffectively giving people the same flu shot every year, and we would be absolutely *baffled* why it failed to work and more people were dying of the flu every year. Darwin's theory lets us predict not only that flu viruses evolve, and WHY ... but even helps us predict what kinds of strains may produce what kinds of resistance, and where, and when these new epidemics may occur.



If you're asking specifically about human evolution, then you're missing the KEY point.



Evolution explains WHY we are similar to other organisms .., or more specifically WHY we are *more* similar to some organisms than we are to others Why we share the same structures, the same proteins, the same metabolic pathways, the same neurological features, the same cardiovascular systems, the same reproductive systems with some organisms and not with others.



Without evolution, none of these *PATTERNS* make any sense!



To pick a specific example, WHY do we share so many things in common with the primates of Africa and Asia (the "Old World primates"), that we do not share with the primates of Central and South America (the "New World primates")? For example, the Old World primates have three-color vision, opposable thumbs, no prehensile tail, and a 2.1.2.3 dentition (dental pattern); while New World monkeys (there are no New World apes) have only two-color vision, no opposable thumbs, a prehensile tail, and a 2.1.2.3 or 2.1.3.3 dentition. Evolution explains WHY we have some features in common with the primates on one side of the Atlantic, and not with those on the other side ... because these differences arose AFTER the split between the two types of primates when the African and South American continents drifted apart.



(Source: http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/prim_4.htm )



>"human evolution , a Science? I don't think so!"



That's fine. The overwhelming consensus of scientists in the world disagrees with you. So all you're doing is deciding that you know better than all the world's scientific community about what is and what is not "science."



----- @ A Yahoo! user -----



>"I believe in a creator because DNA is to complicated to have happened by chance"



If you're talking about DNA itself, it's not that complicated.



If you're talking about a specific *instance* of DNA (like *human DNA*), then that DNA did NOT happen "by chance." It happened *by evolution* ... natural selection, which is NOT chance. Whenever Creationists dismiss evolution as "just chance" they only reveal that they do not understand it ... they miss the ENTIRE POINT of why Darwin, and natural selection, are significant. It is NOT CHANCE.



You can't refute evolution if you don't understand it!



>"I believe in the God of Christianity because the Christians who actually follow the Bible and don't just make things up have the supernatural evidence and material evidence to back up their claims"



Circular logic. Belief in the God of Christianity is dependent on "following the Bible" to find "supernatural evidence and material evidence." But the only reason to follow the Bible is if one is already a believer in the God of Christianity.



(P.S. I am a Christian myself ... my point is only that it is circular reasoning to invoke the Bible as justifying a belief in God, and a belief in God as the justification for invoking the Bible.)



>"(Basically, if a man says he can do ten things and proves to you that he can do 9 of them, then he can probably do the tenth thing as well. The tenth thing being salvation)"



That's "logic"? If I claim, and then prove, that I can lift (1) an apple; (2) a golf ball; (3) a book; (4) a clock; (5) a coffee cup; (6) a shoe; (7) an iPhone; (8) a sack of potatoes; and (9) a cat; does that *LOGICALLY* give me credibility when I claim I can lift (10) a pickup truck?



(Again, as a Christian I implore you. Using BAD logic to try to persuade people to believe in God, only makes God look illogical. Please stop it ... you are not doing God any favors. You only make Christians look like our beliefs are based on eggshells, faulty logic, and self-deception.)



-----



I applaud Truthseeker's rebuttal of 'Lighting from the East's' post.



Lightning writes: "Of course, neither can evolution be observed or tested, but that does not seem to be an issue with evolutionists."



That is like saying that a golf club "does not seem to be an issue" with golfers! Observation and testability are HUGE issues with scientists ... almost all of whom are 'evolutionists.'



So simply denying that evolution can be observed or tested only reveals that Lightning knows NOTHING about the reasons that scientists overwhelmingly accept evolution. Nothing. Nada. Zip.



To claim that evolution is not testable "because we cannot go back billions (or thousands) of years" is a breathtakingly impotent concept of science!



We don't have to go back billions of years in order to determine that a rock is billions of years old ... any more than we have to go back 1,000 years to determine that a piece of wood is 1,000 years old ... or to go back 10 weeks to find evidence of a crime at which we were not present! Finding evidence of past events at which we were not present is FUNDAMENTAL to science! How can Creationists be so ignorant of this?



The reason Creationism is not a science has nothing to do with whether we can go back in time. It has to do with the fact that Creationism *DOESN'T MAKE TESTABLE STATEMENTS*. How can you test Creationism against the laws of logic, physics, or evidence ... when its central *premise* is a being that can violate the laws of logic, physics, and evidence???





Does it not dawn on Creationists that repeatedly expressing a fundamental *basic* ignorance of HOW SCIENCE WORKS does not make you sound persuasive, or even educated??



Again, as a Christian myself, I can only lament what a CRAPPY image this paints of Christians as ignorant, scientifically illiterate fools engaged in a lifelong act of self-deception.



Again, you are NOT serving God by linking faith to ignorance.
Lighting the Way to Reality
2010-08-11 03:44:17 UTC
"human evolution , a Science? I don't think so!"



Really? You think you are better qualified to make that judgment than are the millions of scientists who think otherwise?



If it's not a science, how do you explain these:



http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/hominids.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hominina_fossils



And how do you explain this:



About fifty years ago, when it was first noted that apes have 24 pairs of chromosomes, but humans have 23, the creationists subsequently pounced upon that as evidence against the evolution of humans from a common ancestor with the apes. The evolutionary scientists, however, using evolutionary theory and an understanding of genetic modification, proposed that two of the chromosomes must have joined together in the line that led to man from the common ancestor, thus reducing the chromosome number.



That prediction has been verified with the results of the recent human and chimp genome projects. It was found that human chromosome 2 is the result of the joining of two chromosomes that have homologues in the chimp. The decoding of the genomes revealed that human chromosome 2 has a stretch of non-functioning telomere coding in the exact place it should be if the two chromosomes had joined in the human line from the common ancestor with the apes, and there is also non-functioning coding for a centromere in the exact location where the extra centromere would be as it occurs in one of the homologous chimp chromosomes, as well as a functioning centromere in the same location as in the other homologous chimp chromosome.



Long before the genome projects verified it, this article contained an example of the proposition that two of the ancestral chromosomes joined together to form human chromosome 2.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/215/4539/1525



These sites explain the finding of the genome projects.

http://www.evolutionpages.com/chromosome_2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chromosome_2

http://www.genome.gov/13514624

http://www.gate.net/~rwms/hum_ape_chrom.html



No creationist pseudo-scientist could make a before-the-fact prediction like that. All they can do is to make up pseudo-explanations after the fact of the finding.



I think you need to stop believing what you find in lying creationist web sites and books.



But to answer your question,



http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/search/topicbrowse2.php?topic_id=47

http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2009/02/evolutionary-co.html

http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CA/CA215.html

http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/pigliucci.html



Added:



@A Yahoo! user: "The problem is that mutations ALWAYS result in less information. A single Cell couldn't have evolved into a human. Why? It would have had to received more DNA in order to become more complicated."



That is creationist BS. Mutations do not "ALWAYS" result in less information. If you believe that they do, you don't know squat about genetics.



This site provides a list of other sites showing how genetic information can increase.



http://home.nctv.com/jackjan/item13.htm



@A Yahoo! user:"If the monkeys really turned into people then we would have THOUSANDS of transitional fossils to show to people as proof."



Thousands? You are hardly qualified to declare what must be found. Fossilization is a rare occurrence. The only reason we have as many fossils as we do is that it has been going on for millions of years. But for a complete sequence of every change through a particular lineage would be extremely rare.



Humans had a common ancestor with the apes. Here are some of the fossils. I had listed them above, but here they are again.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hominina_fossils

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/hominids.html



As for other transitional fossils, what are these? Chopped liver?



http://truth-saves.com/Transitional_Fossils.php

http://truth-saves.com/Our_Ancestors.php

http://www.holysmoke.org/tran-icr.htm

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=229081369&blogId=371847244

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1081677.stm

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/thedinobirdconnection/a/dinobirds.htm

http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/thedinobirdconnection/a/dinobirds_2.htm

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section1.html#morphological_intermediates

http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/c.bkgrnd.html

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/hominids.html

http://www.evolutionfaq.com/videos/transitional-fossils

http://chem.tufts.edu/science/evolution/HorseEvolution.htm

http://www.theistic-evolution.com/transitional.html



As for DNA and human evolution, read what I said above concerning human chromosome 2.



Your problem is that you have been visiting too many lying creationist web sites.



Added:



And Ken Ham has proved that he is a liar for Jesus.





Added:



I see that @Lightning From the East is back with his list of links to creationist web sites that resort to misinformation, misrepresentation, falsehoods, outright lies, and reprehensible and despicable tactics in their attempts to refute evolution. Those web sites show those who promote creationism are utterly dishonest and have a hatred of facts and evidence.



He also repeats typical creationist nonsense.



@Lightning From the East: "Of course, neither can evolution be observed or tested, but that does not seem to be an issue with evolutionists."



Evolution has been tested by various means ever since Darwin proposed his theory, and it has always come through with flying colors. Regardless of whether @Lightning's ignorance of those tests is real or feigned, it just shows that what he says commands no credibility.



One test is performed every time a paleontologist digs in geologic strata--the results of which could falsify evolution if it is false and verify the creation model if it is true. The results, in fact, verify evolution and falsify the creation model.



That is because evolutionary theory would be falsified if any of the 5,000 present-day species of mammals or 10,000 present-day species of birds were found in the fossil strata where they should not be found (for example, in the same strata with dinosaur fossils). No such finds have been made. But, according to the creationist flood "model" those species should be found in those strata.



The theory of evolution is also tested through the ability to derive verifiable predictions from it. I provided an example above concerning human chromosome 2.



Again, no creationist pseudo-scientist could make a prediction like that. And numerous other successful predictions have been derived from evolutionary theory.



As for the links that @Lightning From the East provided:



The links labeled "Darwin's Deadly Legacy" are examples of the use of reprehensible and despicable tactics in grossly misrepresenting evolutionary theory by attributing Nazism to it.



In fact, Hitler got his inspiration from Martin Luther's invective against the Jews, and the Holocaust was the culmination of 1700 years of Christian antisemitism.



"He [Luther] argues that their synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes razed, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and these "poisonous envenomed worms" should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "[w]e are at fault in not slaying them.""



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Jews_and_Their_Lies



And if Hitler got his inspiration from Darwin, why then were Darwinian books on the Nazi's list of banned books? See item 6 under Guidelines from Die Bücherei 2:6 (1935), p. 279. It's about two-thirds of the way down in the document.



http://www.library.arizona.edu/exhibits/burnedbooks/documents.htm



And most, if not all, of those who were rounding up the Jews, transporting them to the death camps, and manning the ovens were Christians.



It seems to me that Christians are trying to wash off their own guilt in the Holocaust by fostering the blame onto Darwin.



The links that are by Carl Baugh are full of pseudo-scientific nonsense and creationist frauds.

http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/carl_baugh_page.htm

http://paleo.cc/paluxy/wilker6.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Baugh

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/paluxy/degrees.html

http://www.epicidiot.com/evo_cre/carl_baugh.htm

http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-12-12/news/footprints-of-fantasy/

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Believe-Evolution-Against-Odds/product-reviews/1575580497/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar



See item 6 here where it is noted that even Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International criticize Baugh.

http://www.reduciblycomplex.com/index.php/evidence-for-creation-debunked/



And Robert Gentry of the RATE Project which is referred to in the Why do creationists feel sorry for delusionists? link has been repeatedly refuted, and even religious web sites criticize the RATE Project.



See item 5 in the above link. See also:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/po-halos/gentry.html

http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/rate-ri.htm

http://www.reasons.org/resources/non-staff-papers/DotheRATEFindingsNegateMainstreamScience





This site refutes virtually all of the other arguments against evolution that can be found in @Lightning's deceitfull links.



http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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