Blog #165--My Views on Evolution Are Evolving
I took a beginning speech course in college. According to a class vote, my best speech that semester dealt with the subject of evolution. I was also taking a course in Comparative Anatomy that semester, and the many similarities between various life forms made evolution seem extremely plausible. I concluded the speech by discussing teleology, a concept where evolution exists but is backed by a divine plan. In other words, it represents a middle ground between those convinced evolution occurs and those who believe a supreme being put humans here as separate beings to rule over the rest of Nature.
Scientists and Creationists have been at odds ever since Charles Darwin put forth his ideas on evolution and natural selection. In other words, it became a battle between the logical, rational left brain and the emotional, faith-oriented right brain. Both camps continue to have their proponents, and neither is willing to find a compromise solution that can encompass all beliefs into a workable solution to the problem.
To me, evolution simply means change. The one constant in this world is change since all things are in motion and continue to interact with one another. Our bodies evolve from a one-celled organism at conception to an adult human composed of billions of cells. We adapt our perspective of ourselves and the world around us as we grow up and learn more. Even those who resist change with all their might must occasionally modify their approach to survive extreme situations.
Similarly, my views on evolution have changed over time as well. Like most people, when I was young I assumed humans were superior to all other life forms, making it easier to imagine a supreme being creating us separately from the rest of Nature and assigning us free will to do as we please. That’s what my elders and teachers said, and that was the consensus of my peers.
When I studied Biology, Genetics, Embryology and other more advanced subjects in school, Darwin’s notions became more acceptable to me. When one looks at the enormous variety of life in existence, one finds tremendous similarity between them all, including humans. When one observes how life works, change is ever-present. Natural selection demonstrates clearly how these changes can either help or hurt any species. It can create new species variations or destroy existing species.
One needs look no further than how “super rats,” antibiotic-resistant bacteria and pesticide-resistant parasites can be produced from man’s attempts to destroy them. All life forms have many genes that create variable combinations within their offspring. Most rats may be vulnerable to rat poison, but those capable of resisting the poison remain alive, mate with each other and produce offspring resistant as well. The same thing has happened with each life form humans have tried to wipe off the face of the Earth. In our arrogance to prove our superiority, we have made our enemies stronger in the long run than they were previously.
Even viruses supposedly eliminated by vaccinating entire populations remain with us, waiting for a chance to find new hosts. Life forms have been discovered living in the most extreme environments, including the vacuum of space. To think humans are superior to all other life is ludicrous. The imperative of all life forms is survival, and spontaneous gene mutations are also possible. Whether a species exists unchanged for millions of years or must adapt to extreme conditions sufficient to modify its appearance and/or behavior to survive, life goes on.
Recognizing that humans are simply a variation on a theme that exists throughout Nature was a revelation for me. No longer was I confused by seemingly contradictory conclusions between evolution and creation. I began to realize that we all go through changes, and those changes can either help or hurt future generations.
For instance, what would happen if a world-wide catastrophe destroyed all human life except an as yet unknown primitive tribe in an isolated location? We would no doubt have to conclude that humans have de-evolved. Actually, that tribe of people might be superior to the rest of us simply because it survived, and we couldn’t argue for our vast technological achievements as proof of our superiority because we wouldn’t be here to do so.
If that tribe continued to be successful in its way of life, change might be minimal or at least slow-paced. But if a few other humans survived also and ultimately mated with members of that tribe, a new gene pool would result. If over time their offspring mated with other offspring with a mixture of the two group’s traits, eventually a new variation of human would result.
Various animals have mated successfully with species other than their own. A horse and donkey mating produces a mule. While the mule is sterile, it is definitely considered a different species. Lions and tigers, dogs and wolves, dolphins and killer whales, zebras and horses and a significant number of other species have cross-mated to produce offspring that are mixtures of the two. Some are no doubt fertile. If they mate with others like themselves, before long they will be considered a new species.
Maybe someday a plague will wipe out everyone except those born with albinism, characterized by extremely pale skin and red eyes that don’t see well. The long-term result would be a world filled with albino humans. Maybe that new variation would survive as well or better than its predecessors. Or, if it found itself dying off, it might be another of many dead-ends like the Cro-Magnon, Neanderthal, Australopithecus and other life forms that were incapable of sustaining life for an extensive period of time. In other words, evolution goes both ways, ending up with a balance equal to the rest of Nature.
Humans get all bent out of shape about the notion we might have evolved from primates (we call them “lower life forms”). Of course, we also don’t want to admit we are really mammals. But a few of us are born with thick hair all over our bodies. Some are born with tails. Some have gill slits. In the past, we have relegated these “freaks” to side shows because we were so afraid to admit our natural equality with them. They might actually have genes that would enhance our survival chances, but we treat them like they are our enemies.
If we were created out of thin air as humans, all other life forms were created the same way, making them our equals. If we evolved from other primates, then we are merely variations on the theme of life. Again, that means we are equal to the rest of life. We have certain advantages, but we also have disadvantages. The two opposites balance out.
Thus, my views on evolution have changed over time. If this world is real as we perceive it, we do continue to evolve, for better or worse. Of course, if the world is really an illusion, and I’m beginning to lean toward that premise, both evolution and creation stories are incorrect.
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