So let's pretend that evolution is fact...?

Question

for millions of years we have been evolving naturally, and in the past 200 years we have started curing diseases and performing successful operations thanks to the knowledge we have gained from science. But couldn't all of this be throwing a wrench into the works? We are fighting against natural selection with modern medecine...is this going to slowly halt our evolution? Is modern medecine going to stop us from evolving into the gods we are meant to be?

Well, i'm not looking for anyone to side with me, I was interested in hearing input from a scientific point of view...

If evolution is your bag, then technological advances would certainly be a result of evolution....but we have never before been able to "mess" with the process like we have become able in the past few hundred years...

modern medecine is also keeping some worthless minds alive, it is allowing the weakest human beings to reproduce....

Answer 1

1. No need to pretend! The evolution of life over time is a fact central to modern biology. Every prediction of evolution that can be tested has been confirmed. The fossil evidence is staggering, and even that pales compared to the overwhelming evidence found within our DNA. No alternative theory has successfully explained the ever-mounting evidence for evolution, except for "God made it look like evolution happened" (which is, of course, not a testable hypothesis, and therefore not a scientific option). Despite what you might hear from non-scientists, there are few theories on which scientists have a firmer consensus than evolution.

2. You correctly point out the differences in time scale between evolution and the advent of modern medicine and public health. I find it easy to imagine that something as profound as scientific medicine could have a big effect on our species if it hangs around for a thousand times longer than the current age of civilization.

3. Be careful not to confuse "evolution" with "natural selection." Evolution is the verifiable fact that species change over time. Natural selection is the set of environmental pressures that help drive evolution of a species. If human civilization lasts for millions of years (without self-destruction), then I absolutely agree with you that the species will feel different selective pressures than if we stayed in caves. That doesn't mean our species will stop evolving; rather, it means the species will evolve due to factors other than bacteria and hunting. Humans 10,000,000 years from now will undoubtably be different from humans today, and that is evolution.

4. Evolution is a tree, not a ladder. Humans are not the pinnacle or goal of evolution, and there is no future species that we are "meant" to become. The changes of evolution happen randomly and respond to current pressures; there is no long-term plan or guidance.

5. Even if there was a goal, why wouldn't our "natural" intelligence be a part of that story? How is the medicine we create any less a product of nature than the survival tactics of other organisms? How could we know what God or Fate "meant" for us, except to use the tools we were born with?

Answer 2

I don't understand the purpose in the question you're asking. Yes, scientist could be wrong about many of their theories. Yes there could be any multitude of gods or deities that exists. Anything is possible if you're just speculating. The reason why YOU don't believe in god is because you were not taught, or do not subscribe to the underlying necessity of religion. FAITH. If we had proof of God's existence, or the validity of the bible, or any other number of religious text's, then things would be a heck of a lot more different here on earth. We believe because we were taught, and something inside of us keeps us believing and coming back. We believe prayer can be answered, we believe that there is one God, and it is he who is described in the bible. So I'm not going to give you proof that the Christian God is the only real god. OR tell you that you have to believe it. But anytime you want to learn more about what we believe in, crack open a bible to John 1 and start reading. It's been said that all religions have some part of the real thing correct. The message of religion is to love your fellow man, and to be a good person. If all of us are wrong, then It's just a really roundabout way to make sure we have a lot of nice people in the world.

Answer 3

Why do we always assume just because we are human that our technological advances aren't natural? Rather than throwing a wrench into the works, who's to say that our advances aren't merely a PART of the evolution and indeed, result FROM evolution?

I'd argue that without modern medicine, we'd have a much tougher time evolving, because modern medicine is keeping some brilliant minds alive.

Evolution does NOT just mean physical changes. I'm not sure why people like to put their own limitations into something that is bigger than them. Behavioral patterns are very much a part of evolution.

Answer 4

Evolution occurs in flurries. Generally a species only goes through a significant change when circumstances change dramatically. Modern man evolved and spread throughout the world when climate changes wiped out the forests in parts of Africa. We had to evolve or die out, and often the species does die out.

I suppose the answer to your question is yes, though. If science, medicine or otherwise, prevents evolutionary pressures on our species then we won't evolve. Remember evolution has nothing to do with getting smarter or or closer to "evolving into the gods". It just means that a species changes to fit new circumstances. It could mean bigger, faster, smaller, or stronger.

Answer 5

Our ability to change our environments is a result of evolution. Without this ability to think, plan and make tools, I doubt man would have survived. Similarly, many species do not just roll over and die, they try to survive. Is this going against evolution, or playing into survival of the fittest? You really need to study evolution more, as it is a complex subject.

Answer 6

It has been proven in a lab that organic materials can be created from inorganic! This is a fact. Your argument has no creedence with Biologists, try the Philosophy or religion topics maybe someone will side with you

Answer 7

Pretending is for kids. There is no god, evolution is fact.