From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Fri Oct 08 2004 - 18:00:58 BST
Daniel,
> Platt,
>
> I have been lurking on this list for some time and on several occasions
> have heard you talk about the dependency of evolution on the 'creative
> power of chance.' I fail to see how you arive at this conclusion. Could you
> please explain?
From Lila, Chap. 11:
"Phaedrus had found a good summary of the entire matter in a Scientific
American article by Ernst Mayr. 'Evolution is recklessly opportunistic: it
favors any variation that provides a competitive advantage over other
members of an organism's own population or over individuals of different
species. For billions of years this process has automatically fueled what
we call evolutionary progress. No program controlled or directed this
progression. It was the result of spur of the moment decisions of natural
selection.' "
Evolutionary theory is based on "natural selection" which means chance
mutations in DNA account for physical changes in organisms that in some
cases prove to be advantageous in the environment, enhancing survival.
Such accidental changes are then passed on to succeeding generations.
"No program controlled or directed this progression" according to Mayr,
speaking for the scientific view of evolution. How this evolutionary
process that's driven by chance arose in the first place is, of course,
never answered lest some supernatural power be admitted. :-)
Best,
Platt
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