Ev-(s)olution

I somewhat agree with Brad about his post about how we should not even debate evolution at al. Like politics or sex, I feel that evolution is one of those controversial topics that we should try to avoid at the dinner table. However, I question whether we are stimulating our minds or changing how we see the world we live in if we simply accept what we already know and refuse to be open to new ideas.

Evolution is strikingly different from creationism and that is where the debate lies. I was brought up in a Christian environment and leaned how God “let the waters teem with living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth…[so that they might] be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas [and upon earth]” (Genesis 1:20-22, in Bump 231). However, this idea of creation does not explain variability, which is something Darwin brings up in his post. According to Rachel, she contended that the presence of diseases in the human population disproves this idea of the survival of the fittest.

However, we learned in Plan II biology that the affect of natural selection on humans is decreasing because of technology to keep the sick and weak alive. Although I am not endorsing one viewpoint over the others, I feel that we must keep and open mind in analyzing sciences. The point of the debate, in response to Brad’s post, is because humans are fascinated with where they’re from. The famous cliché “You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been” is applicable in this situation. Knowing how we are here helps us determine what our purpose in life is. Why were we put here? What are we supposed to do with our lives? I think that much of the debate is psychological. Some people find comfort in knowing that their purpose in life is to worship their creator until they get to eternity with that creator. Others feel that they have one life to live so they want to live that life well and fruitfully. Whatever you believe, the evolution vs. creation debate won’t have a solution.

According to Darwin, “we have good reason to believe… that changes in the conditions of life give tendency to increase variability; and in the foregoing case, the conditions have changed, and this would manifestly be favorable to natural selection” (Darwin, in Bump 236). His idea of natural selection could be applied to humans in that those who believe in natural selection have a different goal or purpose in life than those who don’t. In sort of a morbid way, we could say that there are two groups of people living their lives in two different ways based on their outlook on life and their definition of the purpose of life.

The purpose of writing and learning about evolution is not to say that it is definitely true or definitely false. Rather, by exposing students to different theories, each individual can make his or her own choice and live his or her life based on that choice.