Is Evolution True?

Question

I think evolution is not true, but NOT for religious reasons.

Actually, my reasons for coming to the conclusion that evolution is false actually came from thinking about human kind in a scientific standpoint.

The only reason why I think that evolution is false is because it does not include the purpose of emotions. I know that it is only one reason, but it is a very good one.

If you think about it, emotions such as love, anger, hate, envy, etc., do us much more bad than good. So if everything about human existance is supposed to help our chances for survival, how come we have emotions that cause pain and sometimes death. Emotions can make someone kill themselves, be carless and get killed by someone else, impear judgement, etc. Plus there is no point to even have emotions in evolutionary terms.

So, how can the theory of evolution be correct when it does not take into account emotions, and the anti-survival role they play?

And I'm not saying I don't want emotions either. I'm just saying that emotions prove that the theory of evolution is wrong.

This has nothing to do with Christianity, so stop associating the two.

Futhermore, yes extremely bare emotions do serve a very great survival role. Those extremely bare emotions are called instincts.

But the emotions I'm talking about are the complicated ones. Like anger, envy, "love", hate, etc.

Answer 1

your question was decent...so my answer will only address the question headliner.

the body of your question is incredibly confusing and makes no sense whatsoever...

is evolution true?

no, because it is still called the THEORY of evolution.

if this was true and proven beyond doubt ...it would be called the LAW of evolution...but it isnt.

see the difference?

new material:

isnt it amazing how many ill informed scientifically uneducated ding dongs on philosophy are giving answers they bullet proof assure is 100% true.

again, i will restate that the THEORY of evolution isnt not true because it is a THEORY (seems like people dont understand english and have no intelligence to understand content).

a LAW is when the 'theory' becomes true!

the ongoing answers is just my unending proof and evidence that people here on philosophy are truly morons!

Answer 2

Admittedly, human evolution is one of the least studied topics in biology right now. However, some of the points you are making are for the theory of evolution. Your claim that hate, anger, and envy can cause pain and death oftentimes works in favor of human evolution. The basis of evolution, is that, organisms (in this case all of us), with certain traits, will better survive and thus pass on their genetic code. So, envy for example, might lead a human to kill somebody in order to obtain something they want. The reason they want it is because they believe it will benefit them. If I was envious of you having a significant other that I wanted, and killed you for it, would I not be gaining a significant other. Would I not be gaining an evolutionary advantage. These anti-survival emotions you mention, may be anti-survival against the total human population, but on an individual level, can be advantageous. Humans have somehow evolved past that to the point where we have created institutions which counter are instincts. Emotions, such as love are the emotions that are harder to explain through evolution. Even then, who says that love didn't evolve from the basic emotions that Neanderthals had. Did you know that Neanderthals buried their dead, and were capable of art (cave paintings). What basic emotion would give reason for honoring your dead? I would say that that may or may not be the foundations of advanced emotions. As to some of the people who answered your questions with "Evolution is not real," many of you are completely uneducated on the science behind it, as well as some of the people arguing for it. What needs to be known, is that evolution is a scientific theory, not to be mixed with the common English word theory. In science, a theory is the second strongest scientific argument in existence, behind a law. If you are saying evolution is not credible because it is only a theory, you are also saying the theory of GRAVITY is not credible along with hundreds of common day scientific theories that you would easily accept on a daily basis. Evolution is the leading and absolutely most accurate theory of the current state of biodiversity and existent biota on the planet. Within the scientific community, it is not even remotely questioned. It's only outside of science, that people try and discredit evolution through faith and misunderstanding. At this point, I would encourage everybody to look more into the current affairs of science, and stop believing the constant wave of propaganda. Evolution was not created to anger religious people, it was theorized because all of the data is there to back it up. I would suggest either supporting evolution, or begin scientific studying; because apparently you know better/or don't believe the world's strongest scientific minds.

Answer 3

I would say that your premise is wrong. I don't know what you mean, exactly by "explain emotions", but you would have a valid point if you said that evolution "isn't consistent with the existence of emotions", and it were a true statement, but it's not; that would be incorrect.

I've read many totally reasonable explanations of how emotions could have evolved and why. For an example, see the link I put under "Sources" below.

By the way, I don't agree that emotions do us more bad than good. This is also explained in the explanations I mentioned. Emotions increase the probability of survival on the average. In some cases, they may do the opposite, but when you tally everything up, they are a positive.

Answer 4

Pollux has a good link, you should read that. You need to remember that humans appear to have evolved from social primates. In any social species, emotions are going to become very important. Research on chimps has shown that they are keenly aware of other's "emotions" in the tribe. They try to head off trouble by grooming each other especially when they see that someone is starting to get angry.

When a lower male is trying to mate with a female, the alpha male will feel anger/jealousy, that is why he attacks the other male. He's not some robot that has a stimulus response of "see cheating male, make noises and actions that look like anger", it's actual anger. Same with humans.

Answer 5

Are you sure that other animals are free of emotions?
I'm sure if you can talk with a wale, a dog or a horse they will express his emotions to you. Gorillas can't talk but they can easily express his emotions. Experiments with sign language with Gorillas shown that they are temperamental and very intelligent.
Anyway having or not having emotions is not the way to understand the process of evolution. For example: do you know that bacterias are evolving all the time? That's why we need different antibiotics, or why are the roaches immune to some insecticides that work in the past.

Answer 6

Evolution is true. Emotions have at their root only two - the love or fear of a thing. They spring from the first basic drive - self preservation. But self preservation is not a simple thing. Different situations require different senses of self preservation. It is from this that all other emotions come.

As to the appropriateness of the emotion for survival. Only the fit survive is a law of evolution. Each environment brings its own challenges. The specie best suited to thrive in that environment goes on, the others die out. Success for a specie is measured in its ability to procreate before the individual is killed or dies. If enough individuals survive to maintain the genetic pool, the specie survives.

Answer 7

I think your interpretation of emotions is somewhat skewed. Emotions are a powerful tool in the battle for survival. Love that goes hand in hand with sex is the source of new life. Mother's love (or instinct) protects and nurtures new life. Male head of the family supports and protects it. Sometimes even kills to protect it. Negative feelings like anger or fear are also tools of survival. I bet you heard about fight or flight response. Envy is an emotion that you have when you see another specimen doing better than you thus being your rival in the survival battle. People who kill have a motive, and their motive is usually to remove someone who threatens their interest. On the other hand people who have little or no emotions have very little will to live - they are depressed, often suicidal. So, emotions are necessary to survive and pass your genes.

Answer 8

1) Reason alone cannot provide a basis for itself to start from, a premise from which logic might proceed. We are, then, required to have basic on/off motivations. Without emotion, we would have no impetuous to act at all. Sentiment is the basis of most decisions, and we could not survive without it.

2) In primates the cortex allows the older, deeper, hard wired nervous mechanisms we have in common with simpler organisms to be combined in multiple ways and gradations. This reaches its pinnacle (among known species) in humans. This kind of flexibility allows for a wider range of responses both positive and negative. The negative examples you suggest actually verify this general rule of neurobiological evolution.

Answer 9

Haven't you heard, the debate is over, we have the fossils. Most fossil intermediates in vertebrate evolution have indeed been found. A clear line of fossils now traces the transition between whales and hoofed mammals, between reptiles and mammals, between dinosaurs and birds, between apes and humans. The fossil evidence of evolution between major forms is compelling.

The evolution of our limbic system of the brain, where our most primitive emotions reside, including hate, anger, and yes...the religious feelings was developed long before the rational part of our brains developed. The cerebral cortex, a more recent development, say within the last 100,000 years, holds the rational and logical thinking parts of our brains.

To think our emotions are not a part of evolutionary development is not rational.

Answer 10

FAR OUT DUDE
I have a whacky theory. Evolution, instinct, deja vu, insight are the same evolvable forms of brain power. Now if our DNA has any sort of memory, paired with our huge amount of "unused" brain power, then that would be an interesting key to this discussion. Now add to this DNA the overprivilaged English society that sent opportunists over to conquor this land. Then the hardships, wars, Our DNA is messed and it holds the key to your answer

Answer 11

I agree with Nick. You got the theory wrong. There is strong evidence that evolution is more closer to the truth than any other "theory" incuding that of "god". All creatures that exists today has bad as well as good things. It is a competion. So it is the totality that matters. Have you heard about EQ? So it is still the "good things" that makes us survive, but not all are "gifted" with the "good things". I know it is a short answer. I know I have no answered everything.