A question for EVOLUTIONISTS?????

Question

According to Darwin himself, any complex organ that could not have formed by chance and slight modification would break his theory apart:

"If it could be
demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly
have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my
theory would absolutely break down." 17

A good example of a complex organ is the eyes, which cannot form by slight modifications, it has to have all of its parts to function or it will be useless?

Answer 1

The "eye quote" is taken out of context by Christians. Because if you actually read the book, you would know that right after the quote, Darwin explains how the eye could have evolved.

Actually read the book before you pretend to know what it says.

The quote Christians use:

To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree. (Darwin 1872)

What Darwind says right after it:

Yet reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a perfect and complex eye to one very imperfect and simple, each grade being useful to its possessor, can be shown to exist; if further, the eye does vary ever so slightly, and the variations be inherited, which is certainly the case; and if any variation or modification in the organ be ever useful to an animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, can hardly be considered real. How a nerve comes to be sensitive to light, hardly concerns us more than how life itself first originated; but I may remark that several facts make me suspect that any sensitive nerve may be rendered sensitive to light, and likewise to those coarser vibrations of the air which produce sound. (Darwin 1872, 143-144)

Answer 2

A complex organ, yes, but not without its flaws. For example, we all have blind spots. Also, if the eye is such a perfect organ designed by a flawless god, why do so many people have to wear glasses? The eye was formed by slight modifications. It started out as a patch of photosensitive cells (which can still be seen in such organisms as planaria) known as an eyespot. Through refinements made by natural selection, we have been equipped with our eyes. Our eyes are not nearly as excellent as eagle eyes, cat eyes, etc. Why not use those as your examples? Don't fall prey to creationist mumbo-jumbo. The eye argument sounds good to uneducated ears. Read some real science on the issue and find out the truth.

Answer 3

And? Evolutionary science has come a long ways from the 1800's. If you're still quoting Darwin, you really ought to read some more current stuff

Here's some reading to help you ask better questions =)

Edit:
RKS that *may* be true, but it real depends on how you compute the probability, but a quote like that needs a reference. Then again if Super String Theory is right there could be potentially infinite "universes" and therefore infinite ones with life, think about what infinite means for a bit, it will become clear

Answer 4

darwin goes in to say IN THE VERY NEXT SENTENCE

"But I can find out no such case."

almost 150 years later, no one else has found any such case either, protestations of creationists notwithstanding. the animal kingdom provides examples of functional eyes of varying degrees of complexity. it is going too far then to say that these "could not possibly
have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications". various scenarios for the evolution of eyes have been suggested - the difficulty is deciding which one is right, the difficulty is NOT with coming up with plausible scenarios.

Answer 5

all organs are complex, including the eyes. and what is with the yelling today? makes no sense to yell to make a point, I usually ignore yelled questions, but I feel like wasting my time. My theory is your read ONE article about Darwin and claim to be an expert on the subject, I am no expert neither will I ever claim to be one. Then pick a random organ that seems feasable and hope it is convincing enough to not get laughed at, a little late, the world is laughing at you for this question, they are laughing AT you.

Answer 6

Lets start by saying I am not an evolutionist.

The example of the eyes is a good one. But they have gotten better. Baby's do not have depth perception. That doesn't come for a while. Baby's usually can't see detail. Other creatures can see very well at night. Some can not see in color. These are the differences Darwin was referring too. Not having an extra eye or not having all the parts to put it together.

Answer 7

If you examine what passes for eyes in the animal kingdom, you'll be surprised to discover you are completely wrong. Eyes evolved step-by-step through countless species. Rather than making a total fool of yourself by demonstrating your ignorance to the world, why don't you get yourself a real University education and learn the truth about how reality actually operates?

Answer 8

Baloney.

The eye has evolved through modifications, from first being a heat/light sensing cell and has evolved differently in different animal families (see cephalods).

And if the eye is so perfect, why do most evolution deniers wear glasses?

Who the hell is this Stephen Hawkings the evolution deniers run to as an authority?

I'm sure Stephen Hawking is typing out "ha ha ha" on his voice keyboard right now.

If you really want twisted math, you have your own mental case, William Dembski. His insanity will comfort you.

Answer 9

Yes, dear, the eye is complex. It has evolved "by numerous, successive, slight modifications" over millions of years.

Now, what was your question?

Answer 10

been done before. Kind of like the half a wing argument. you might not be able to fly with half a wing, but there is a distance that you could fall from where half a wing could save you where 49% could not. Same thing with the eye. It might keep you from walking off of a cliff. Start with photosensitive cells and work your way here.