Evolution and Creationism: What Everyone Needs to Know

Science = -- a “Way of knowing” -- materialistic/naturalistic -- hypotheses that are testable and provisional

Science  -- certainty -- ethics -- values -- religion -- politics -- the answer for every question -- all of human thought

Organic Evolution Definitions: The hypothesis that all organisms on Earth are connected by bonds of genealogy and have changed through time. Darwin: “descent with modification”

The Origin tried to do 2 things: 1) Convince the reader that evolution has occurred and is an adequate explanation for observations about life. 2) Convince the reader that a particular mechanism – natural selection – is the main cause of evolution.

Evolution is scientifically useful. ! it is testable ! it answers questions ! it stimulates further research

“How did organisms come to be the way they are?” They have a history. They don’t. They were created as we see them. We can extrapolate from changes we observe today. We cannot extrapolate from changes we observe today.

Evidence for Evolution 1) Biogeography 2) Fossil record 3) Classification 4) Comparative Anatomy 5) Observed small-scale changes 6) Genetics

Evidence for Evolution: Biogeography

Toucan (Neotropics) Hornbill (SE Asia) Evidence for Evolution: Biogeography

Archaeopteryx Compsognathus Archaeopteryx and modern pigeon Evidence for Evolution: The fossil record

Evidence for Evolution: Comparative Anatomy North Atlantic Right Whale

“3 unarguable observations and 2 inescapable conclusions” Observations: –1) There is variation –2) At least some of it is inherited –3) There is vast overproduction Conclusions: –1) There is a “struggle for existence”. –2) On average, those individual organisms with traits that confer some advantage in this struggle will leave more offspring.

“Creationism” isn’t science

Creationism: a definition General: The Universe, the Earth, and all life were created directly by a supernatural creator (God). Variations: –young Earth vs. old Earth –one creation (“special”) vs. many (“sequential”) –non-humans vs. humans

Creationism: a taxonomy Scientific creationism (no reliance on Biblical revelation, utilizing only scientific data) Biblical creationism (no reliance on scientific data, using only the Bible) Scientific Biblical creationism (full reliance on Bible, but also using science) (from Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, 2004)

Intelligent Design: what is it? Holds that “where there is a watch, there must be a watchmaker”. Living things are too complex not to have been designed by an intelligent designer. Claims to accept evolution and an old Earth.

Intelligent Design: How to answer a question about it Even if it doesn’t mention God, religion, or a “creator”, it assumes there is/was one. This is supernatural and non-testable. It’s not science.

U.S. public opinion, 2005 HALF OF AMERICANS ARE “CREATIONISTS” 54% do not think human beings developed from earlier species (up from 46 percent in 1994) 49% believe plants and animals have evolved from some other species; 45% do not believe that. 46% believe apes and humans have a common ancestry; 47% believe we do not. 46% agree that "Darwin’s theory of evolution is proven by fossil discoveries“; 48% disagree. Source: Harris poll, June 2005

Poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted July 2005 among 2,000 U.S. adults Life has existed in its present form since the beginning of time: 42% Life has evolved over time: 48% –Guided by a supreme being: 18% –Evolution by natural selection: 26% –Don’t know how evolved: 4% Don’t know: 10%

Polls 2001 BUT “Evolution should be taught in the public schools” (70%) “The continents on which we live have been moving their location for millions of years...”. (79%)