The question is not whether Evolution is scientifically valid the question is whether or not it is science.?

Question

Is Evolution a "scientific" theory? Does it have the qualities of every other scientific theory. For example, can it predict anything that couldn't have been predicted before Darwin published his work? It dosen't seem as though darwinism can predict anything because darwinism can accomadate any scenario. As Karl Popper once said during a breif moment of honestly, if in an experiment you put some bacterium on an unihabited planet and left it there for 2 billion years, darwinism could account for whatever happened. If there were only a few simple organisms darwinism could explain. if there was nothing darwinism could explain. if there were advanced life forms darwinism could explain. A theory that can explain every conceivable scenario is not a scientific theory. A true scientific theory tells us about the way the world works, which means it must be able to predict. Much of what evolution DOES claim to predict are about changes WITHIN species that could have been made pre-darwin.

Answer 1

There are MANY things that could have disproved Darwin's theory of evolution.

Remember that Darwin came up with his theory before the mechanics of genetics was discovered, and long before DNA was discovered.

- If genetics had provided no mechanism for variation, that would have disproved Darwin. But it did provide many such mutational mechanisms ... gene duplications, transcription errors, translocation, hox genes, etc.

- If the rate of mutation had been too slow or too fast, this would have undermined the theory of evolution to explain the rate of evolution as seen in the fossil record. (For more information, google 'molecular clock.')

- If different organisms (say reptiles and mammals, or plants and animals) had a different molecular basis for genetics, this would have completely undermined evolution, as there would have been no way for evolution to have produced a different molecular structure ... no way for (e.g.) to have evolved mammals. But every life form turns out to have not only the same DNA structure, but the same *TYPE* of DNA ... e.g. the double-helix would be just as valid turning in the opposite direction ... but it doesn't ... the same type of DNA is found everywhere.

- Had any fossil ever been discovered in the wrong order or in the wrong layer geologically, this would have thrown evolution for a loop. But no such fossil has ever been discovered.

In short, the theory of evolution predicted all of these things ... and they have all been born out perfectly.

Answer 2

There are two general kinds of science: experimental science, and observational science. Evolution, along with astronomy, geology, and ecology, is an observational science.

In an experimental science, like chemistry, you can create a controlled experiment where you have a control and a sample with one variation, holding all other possible variables constant.

In evolution, you can do limited experimenting, like with fruit flies, but you can't possibly carry out million-year long experiments. The only information we know about evolution is what we can get from the fossil record, and from comparing DNA of existing species.

Just the same, you can't rearrange stars and nebulae to see how they interact; you can only observe. You can't go back in time and stop Mt. St. Helens from erupting; you can only observe what did happen. With all of these observational sciences, you can try to make predictions, using what data you have and whatever model you have at the time, but they will never be 100% accurate, because 1) there are so many variables that can affect the future that your model doesn't account for, and 2) you may find more data that cause you to adjust your model.

So, if you think geology and astronomy are sciences, then evolution is one as well. There are fossils. There are DNA similarities amongst different species. Evolution is the explanation.

Answer 3

Yahoo Answers sorely needs a FAQ section people can go to before they repeat the same questions from the week before, and the week before that, etc.

Evolution is a *fact* - not a theory. It is the collection of millions of observations (and quite a few experiments, too) which prove beyond the slightest doubt that biological organisms changed over time, first to new varieties, then new species, then new genera, and so on.

Evolutionary theory is an *explanation* of how the fact of evolution happened - it is most definitely *not* an "educated guess" as the creationists keep repeating with their little parrot brains.

Carly Simon ought to sing a song of creationists:

You're so lame,
You probably think this world is about you (don't you)
You're so LAME,
You think you're fooling everyone on Yahoo (that's you!)

Answer 4

Very good thoughts. I believe that Evolution is a very good "Scientific" Theory. It has it's flaws that need to be worked out, but again the greatest concept and Ingenius idea can't be made perfect over night, it takes time and evidence (which I think Evolution needs more of, they have alot already to support it, but I agree they need more supportable ideas)