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Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg or e who wrote (27244)	6/16/2012 10:42:43 AM
From: Giordano Bruno	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69300

Imagery is more powerful than words. Your imagery is distasteful.

To: Greg or e who wrote (27244)	6/16/2012 12:01:41 PM
From: average joe	2 Recommendations Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 69300

Evolution Issue of the Month 2. Natural Selection--Not the Best Idea Anyone Ever Had Natural selection was never a good idea, according to Contrarian Evolutionist author Shaun Johnston in the second of a series of articles published at http://www.takeondarwin.com. Natural selection couldn't account for where species or variation came from; no wonder Darwin hesitated to publish it. Even now when it's combined with genetic mutation natural selection is still not a good idea, Johnston claims. Save Our Selves from Science Gone Wrong What Darwin deserves being famous for is being a wonderful naturalist, friend and family man. Rosendale, NY (PRWEB) June 16, 2012 There isn't much for Darwin to be very famous for, says author Shaun Johnston in an article published by Evolved Self Publishing this month. Evolution and humans evolving from apes had been headline news for 15 years before Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species." Darwin had taken his theory of natural selection directly from the popular science of his day, livestock breeding. Yet his theory failed to account for where either species or variation came from. Within 50 years his name had dropped out of sight. He only became very famous when his theory was combined with genetics in The Modern Synthesis. But, Johnston claims, that too turned out to be not the best idea anyone ever had. Johnston explains what he thinks is wrong with Darwin's account of evolution in "On The Origin of Species." Darwin defined evolution as creatures becoming more adapted to their environments. In fact, adaptation can as logically be the result of the process of evolution, as its cause. Whatever the mechanism driving evolution is, it will almost inevitably make creatures better adapted over time. Turning that around, as Darwin did, to claim that what makes creatures better adapted must be what drives evolution was faulty logic. Anyway, one could say creatures generally become more independent of any one part of their environment over time--look at humans. But Darwin had to define evolution in terms of creatures being made more adapted because that's all his theory of natural selection could account for. The key to evolution turned out to be variation, Johnston says, not natural selection. If enough new variations kept appearing that alone could drive evolution. On the other hand, if there weren't any new variations then natural selection had nothing to work on and evolution would stop. The key either way was variation. Eithor way, natural selection didn't work. But it has had one lasting effect: it means we inherited from Darwin a very impoverished idea of what evolution consists of--nothing more than adaptation. Combining natural selection with genetics doesn't work any better, the article concludes. Natural selection doesn't select for "fitness," it selects for whatever has creatures passing their characteristics on to future generations by leaving more progeny. That selects for creatures that are more aggressive in competition, more deceitful and promiscuous in mating, and more nepotistic and prone to murder other's progeny. But that's not what we see in nature, either in other creatures or ourselves. Whatever it is that drives evolution, it's not merely "selecting" for something among available options, certainly it's not selecting for those qualities, it's creating new variations. Read the complete article. It is the second in a series of articles written by Shaun Johnston, publisher of the Take On Darwin website, that draw attention to flaws in the arguments used to support the Modern Synthesis. Subjects to be covered can be seen here.

To: Greg or e who wrote (27244)	6/16/2012 4:17:40 PM
From: Solon	1 Recommendation Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 69300

I would say that Evolution provides the answers to your questions. It is really good that you are questioning. I hope these answers help you to understand and work through some of the confusion that was evident in the answers you had come up with. Is there a God? No. What is the nature of reality? The accumulation and investigation of all available knowledge gives us our current view of reality. Our understanding of the Nature of things is a work in progress. What is the purpose of the universe? Purposes belong to conscious entities. Unless the universe is conscious, the question is stupid! What is the meaning of life? There are infinite meanings. It depends on whose life one addresses. For a religious delusional fundamentalist it would rely heavily on proselytising or perhaps bilking honest people out of their pension cheques. For most people it is to be happy through the achievement of goals and objectives. Common happiness-producing objectives include raising a family, getting educated, finding love and friendship, becoming “successful”--etc. Why am I here? A combination of chance and Evolutionary fitness. Does prayer work? Only if you ask before you let go of the bridge railing! Is there a soul? Is it immortal? The idea of soul or spirit was an invention of primitive man trying to understand how something unseen was obviously animating life as well as the movement of leaves and so forth. From this puzzlement we got to dryads and nymphs of all sorts of wood and water and vale and dale! The unseen substance we now know as good old plain air. Is there free will? There is still plenty of scientific controversy over this notion. We certainly appear to have choices which is much the same thing. Living does not require that any creature have perfect knowledge. What happens when we die? What happens when anything dies? You get buried. You decay. What is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? The good is what helps people and societ--and the bad is what hurts them. Generally speaking, it is self evident--although Society uses a long experience and the latest reasoning to define the details of offences against the community. Why should I be moral? Because it will increase your chance of survival and optimise any possibilities of happiness. It will allow you to live in a group setting with the maximum cooperation and assistance from others. Is abortion, euthanasia, suicide, paying taxes, foreign aid, or anything else you don’t like forbidden, permissible, or sometimes obligatory? Those are legislated to reflect the values of the community in question. Therefore (because values are relative and Reason is not an equally shared commodity)--the rules differ from community to community. What is love, and how can I find it? Love is both a reasoned and emotional response to someone who reflects our highest and most esteemed values. Does history have any meaning or purpose? History contributes a tremendous body of knowledge to humans. They can use this knowledge in myriad ways to the betterment of the human condition. Does the human past have any lessons for our future? History contributes a tremendous body of knowledge to humans. They can use this knowledge in myriad ways to the betterment of the human condition