Issue of the month: 1. Adaptation

PUBLISHER:

redshirt

Shaun Johnston:
In modern times we've made two revolutionary discoveries. One is, how changes in physical matter can be accounted for in terms of physical laws that can predict precisely what will happen next. Having given rise to science (how this can be studied) and industry (how it can be applied) this revolution is well under way.

The second revolution is, how emergence of species of living creatures can be accounted for in terms of them evolving from one another. This revolution, despite its promise of how much it could tell us about ourselves, remains stillborn through the mistaken application to it of principles coming out of the first revolution--reductive physicalism.

For this second revolution to advance it should be taken from under the wing of science and studied on its own terms. Tip: one recent product of evolution is creatures with minds. Minds are better studied through methods of the humanities than through those of science. Tell me, does this interest you?

Details: Written by Shaun Johnston Shaun Johnston; Published: May 23, 2012 May 23, 2012; Hits: 6323 6323

Darwin made adaptation to the environment the key property of evolved living creatures. That's all natural selection can do. But suppose the key property of living creatures is how independent of their environment they are. This is number 1 in a series of articles casting doubt on the Modern Synthesis.

In Darwin's theory of natural selection the key concept is "adaptation to the environment." All natural selection could do was identify which creatures in a species are better adapted to their surroundings, and make sure only they survived. Since only the better adapted members survived that species would eventually evolve into another species even better adapted. But suppose what's most important about evolution isn't adaptation to the environment. Then evolution must be driven by some other mechanism, and we're entitled to harbor doubts about natural selection. More...