• Question: what are your views on the darwin theory?

    Asked by jorjahh to Alastair, Emma, Hywel, Keith, Vicki on 16 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Hywel Vaughan

      Hywel Vaughan answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Personally, I think it makes a lot of sense. If you look at fossil evidence and the nature of the world around us, survival of the fittest and evolution seems to fit pretty well.
      Saying that, I don’t believe that it is perfect. I believe that there are still a lot of unanswered questions, such as the ‘evolutionary jump’ from ape to Neanderthal… what caused that is still a topic of intense debate.
      Darwin’s theory has a lot of evidenced to back it up, but it still has some flaws. It is after all still a theory… 🙂

    • Photo: Alastair Sloan

      Alastair Sloan answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      I agree with it. It is logical and the evidence for it is solid. However, like I have said to a number of questions, we still don’t have all the answers yet and some questions are still unanswered – such as the missing link question.

      Remember it is Darwin’s theory of evolution – a theory. Alot of evidence supports it but there are still some answers needed and its not perfect

    • Photo: Keith Brain

      Keith Brain answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      I’m very much into Darwinian evolution … its a simple idea that can be used to explain a lot of biology and paleontology. In fact, I’d rate it as the best simple idea of the 19th century. Now, that isn’t to say that it has all the answers. There are “neo-Lamarckian” ideas that are not covered by the core ideas of Darwinian theory, but Darwin gets us most of the way to understanding how evolution works. These neo-Lamarckian (“new ideas, a bit like those of the guy called Lamarck”) allow the experience of the parent to be transferred in some way to their children, which is contrary to the Darwian idea of “survival of the fittest”, or rather “reproduction of the fittest”, being the key driver of how species change over time. On balance, I’m with Darwin.

    • Photo: Vicki Stevenson

      Vicki Stevenson answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Hi
      I think the darwin theory generally makes sense. However, it is a theory and not a confirmed fact – there are gaps in the fossil records which leave it open to dispute. I thought the David Attenborough programs on Darwin were really interesting and explained the theory well – I even got a poster of the Tree of Life from it! If you’re interested, you might like to look at the clips and request a Tree of Life poster from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hd5mf.

Comments

  • Photo: Keith

    Keith commented on :

    Alastair – Missing link?! – there is no missing link – it’s punctuated equilibrium, with a touch of not enough fossils left, mixed with “150 years or so isn’t enough time to sift through enough fossils”.

    Hywel – from ape to Neanderthal might be a cause of intense debate, but I don’t think that any of the potential explanations depend on non-Darwinian evolution.

    Keith – take a deep breath … 😉

  • Photo: Hywel

    Hywel commented on :

    Keith – you are absolutely right there. What I was trying to explain (perhaps ineloquently!) was that there is still no explanation for that jump. Darwin’s theory is great in the way that it shows the ‘story’ as it were from one animal to another, but it does not explain all of the jumps between chapters. Survival of the fittest doesn’t necessarily explain the jump from ape to Neanderthal. I do agree with you though, it is a sound theory that gets us most of the way… I shall try explain my reasoning slightly better in future 😀

  • Photo: Hywel

    Hywel commented on :

    I have been reading through this again, and I can see that what I said sounds like I have doubts about homnid evolution! By the jump I meant more the leap forward in intelligence rather than a leap in physical appearance 🙂