If there is no god.How did evolution come about?

Question

If some speices of animal have very little inteligence how do they evolve?What sparks evolution?What makes a snow Leopard white in winter??

Answer 1

What sparks evolution?

The need for a species to change and adapt to the environment in order to survive.

I'm not really sure if that answers your question. I'm not really sure what you're trying to ask.

Answer 2

Using your example, snow leopards are white in the winter because of their evolution of the species. Leopards that turned white when the snow fell were better able to find prey. Those that weren't starved. The leopards that survived the winter with white winter coats lived to spread their seed. Those that couldn't died off.

The bigger question is why you believe there must have been a god to create the original leopard in the first place. You asked this question while knowing the answers that would be given, right? Why ask the question in the first place if not?

Answer 3

There's a misconception somewhere--intelligence is a by-product of evolution, as it is needed for survival.
An animal does not need to be intelligent to evolve as evolution is involuntary, it happens as animals acclimatize. Genes mutate to accomodate changes and to better suit the environment, natuarl selection occurs to ensure only th fittest survive, that only the best, most valid genes are passed on.

It is quite obvious that once upon a time, we were all bacteria and protozoa with no brains, then shifted to things with brains.
In fact, long ago, these microorganisms ruled the earth and more complex animals did not develop until the atmosphere became more abundant in oxygen. That was the thing needed to sustain complex organisms--more respiratory activities and such-like.

However, you question of whether or not a superior being is involved is highly relevant. Evolution cannot have been indefinite in its stages, if it were infinite in its incarnations--that before microorganisms were smaller organisms and before those were even smaller ones and before those there were even...etc--we would never have got here. We wouldn't be sitting here typing--it would be a mathematical impossiblity. That's the idea of intelligent desigb. Please read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design

In fact the godfather of evolution himself mentioned this problem. If you can prove that there is an indefinitely simple organism somewhere in the history of the universe from which all life has sprung, you will have toppled his theory.

On the flip-side, intelligent design is not seen as utterly scientific:
'because they cannot be tested by experiment, do not generate any predictions, and propose no new hypotheses of their own'.

True, for that reason God cannot exist either as he cannot be proven. --It is unfortunate that we may only use Empirical evidence in science; it is necessary so that we can prove the truth of something but the need is also highly limiting in certain aspects

In any case, they call intelligent design the death of science; it means the end of reason, the end of logic.

Answer 4

Well, the whole matter of God and Evolution is hard to come about. Because you have science and the big bang theory, and everything evolving from that, but then how did the big bang theory come about; where did the dust from planet creation come into play.

Whether or not there is a God is confusing, and it's a contemplation that, chances are, won't be answered 'til death. Although, my contemplation of the fact, is God=Nonexistent. Science can prove everything the bible says wrong. Not to mention the plagues and wrath of God, if God created everything good per say, why do people have freewill to be bad, if every thing's supposedly created Good, why does God have the ability to do bad, why would we be given freewill on that particular area. I think religion is just a crutch to lean upon in doubtful times. Its a safety factor, you're hurting, and you need something to lean on, so you say a prayer and just hope for better days, but it just simply doesn't work that way.

Evolution is about genes, you evolve from your genes, a lot of characteristics in humans and other species are very similar to that of the gene pool in which they came from. Like cat's for instance, if the mother has raccoon-ey look, the kitty's going to have a semi-raccooney look.

And the snow leopard, is all about adaptability. The genes in a snow leopard are obviously genes that can adapt to things easily, and in order to do so, change appearance. the snow leopard is white in winter for camouflage effects to hide from prey.

Answer 5

Your question reveals a misconception about evolution. Evolution does not move toward greater intelligence, necessarily. Intelligence is a function of brain size. The brain takes a huge amount of resources just to function, is vulnerable, and heavy. An animal that lives in a niche that doesn't need a big brains, lets say an ant, will not evolve greater intelligence unless there is something in the environment pushing it that way. Humans evolved because we went through many stages of increasing intelligence. In everyone of our ancestors that got smarter, there was an evolutionary push to get smarter. In other words, every particular trait related to us getting smarter was advantageous. We do not occupy the top of the pyramid of life as some seem to believe. We merely occupy a particular niche.

Once life developed replicating proteins, ie. RNA and DNA, the dye was cast and evolution began to develop (IMO)

The snow leopard is white to blend in to its surroundings. The genes for whiteness were selected because the whiter snow leopards were harder for enemies and prey to see and so they were more successful.

Evolution is less about luck and chance and more about evolving characteristics which make it more successful at surviving and breeding

Answer 6

Ok this is a great question so here it goes.

You would not ask if there was or was not a god if you had not been prompted to do so in the first place by people acting as though there where a god.

If you analyze your basis for understanding the world you will find that most of what you know has been passed down to you from others. But does it mean that that information is true?

People used to believe that the world was flat, and because of that they made all kinds of wrong assumptions about the world around them. The same seems to be true with your assumption of the existance of god.

Try taking the assumption of the existance of a god out of the picture. The only reason that we have the idea of a god is becasue of our own limited rational and psychology in dealing with how the world around us is controlled. We seek to control because our survival depends on it, therefore we assume that if any other factors control our destiny then they must be acting out of the same needs that we are. The need to control to survive. Pretty cave man when you think about it.

The natural rules of reality are set on place regardless of their origins. So lets move on.

Evolution. Like I mentioned before, survival depends on control of ones surroundings. The way that we control our environment and how capable we are in doing so is what ensures our survival. So, the life forms that have certain genetic variations may be more or less capable of survival than others which weeds out animals who do not have these inherited genetic traits.

That is why your snow leopard will change colors in the winter. He has adapted in order to survive and control his surroundings. It really is cool how these things happen but I say that it all comes out of nescesity.

Answer 7

Random genetic variation and Competition.

Let's look at sexual reproduction:
When two organisms sexually reproduce, the offspring's genome is a combination of the two parents'. When this organism sexually reproduces with another, the offspring's genome is, again, a combination of the two parents'. It is not really that simple, though; a combination of two organism's DNA is random in its own right. Look at your siblings. They come from the same stock, but the dominant and recessive traits of your parents are manifested differently in each one. Additionally, whenthe parents' DNA is copied, there are copying errors (this is "mutation"), causing truly random variations in the species' gene pool...so that's what random variation refers to.

Competition prunes the tree of life. Generally, if an offspring is born who is better suited to adapting to its environment (which has changed slightly from the time of its parents), it will have more opportunities to reproduce. This will in turn express itself as more of the offspring's DNA in the generation to come, relative to others in his generation who were not so reproductively successful (i.e. less "fit" for survival).

Say a snow leopard is born who is stark white, while another in his generation is, say, brown (certainly a reasonable proposition). Prey will see the brown one coming, and thus have a more time to escape, while the white one blends into the backdrop of the snow blanket, and thus is very invisible to prey. As a result, the white leopard is better equipped to feed himself, and thus live long enough to reproduce more often than the brown leopard.

You must not forget that evolution proceeds at a glacial pace. The snow leopard did not become white over one generation.

Also, there was really no need to preface your question with "if there is no god". I certainly did not disprove the existence of a god, I only delineated the theory of evolution, which is supported by a plethora of case studies. On the other hand, by ignoring the fact of evolution, you are turning your back on one of the most sound scientific theories we have, and by doing so, you are closing the door to a LEGITIMATE path to knowledge.

I implore you to look at the evidence and think long and hard before you decide to close the book on evolution. Start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution

Answer 8

God was only invented to placate man's desire for a purpose in life.
Evolution is the way life came about, over so many years you obviously can't comprehend it!
Do the maths: the bible works out existence began 4700 years ago!
Science can PROVE this isn't so.
Therefore who came first: evolution or God? Evolution!

It is also a primal instinct requiring little of what you would call intelligence. Species don't think, "Mmmm... What shall we evolve into today?"

Evolution is the adaptation to circumstances. Even bacteria evolve - look at the penecillin resistant strains which plague or hospitals etc today. Was that done by thought?

Keep the fairy tale out of the equation. God does not exist!

Answer 9

Evolution is sparked by diversity. In meiosis, the chromosomes wind tightly together and become tetrads. The tetrads then break apart into fragment that arrange themselves in a random order. This process is called 'crossing over', this is why all humans look different.

Organisms learn to adapt, so each generation will become more suited to its changing environment. (e.i. A long-haired rabbit would most likely survive in a cold environment than a short-haired rabbit.)

Environmental changes also affect gene expression. In the winter, a snow leopard's fur is white because the temperature heightens the expression of that gene.

Answer 10

Intelligence is a byproduct of evolution, not the cause. Evolution is about luck -- the right abilities in the right place at the right time. Change the rules and your luck may run out. Nature tried a bunch of combinations and white in winter worked best. Change the environment -- throw some soot over in the habitat -- and in a few generations, snow leopards may become more grayish.

Answer 11

I believe there is a God. Ignorance is no excuse for anyone on judgement day, we have miracles around us of what we call "mother nature" which are the signature of God's creative nature and un-deniable proof of his existence.

Just as your interested in the subject, think a bit about the dinosaurs? Biggest creatures on earth and more powerful than any remaining and they all get wiped out when rabbits still exist, sometimes I wonder how people come to the conclusion of evolution in the first place?More faith than someone who believes in a God.

Doesn't really answer your question......just thought I'd intrigue.