A Dispassionate View on Evolution

Much has been said and written about the work of Charles Darwin.  Unfortunately, much of this commentary is based on misunderstanding of the scientific theory Darwin expounded.

The truth is that what Darwin spelled out in his Origin of Species  has stood the test of time and currently is our best logical explanation of the development of life on earth. The description of evolution stands as one of the truly great advances in human understanding.

Nothing in Darwin’s work is a commentary on human society or the relative worth of individuals in that society. The work describes the life and survival of species, and does not attempt to judge that life or given an opinion on the survival or extinction of any species.

Generalizing Darwin's theory, the process of evolution is simple, elegant and compelling. Every living species, including our own, strives to meet two basic demands of life:

• Seeking nourishment
• Reproducing itself

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As the only species endowed with intelligent thought, we live far more complex lives than simply pursuing a meal and a mate. It is surely true, however, that without satisfying these two basic needs, our finest achievements would erode.

The margins for survival or extinction are quite small. We live in a dynamic and changing environment, with varying and constant pressures. Where these pressures are incremental or rhythmic in form, a species has its best chance of survival. For example, the constant background rhythms of the tides and the seasons form selection pressures that are rarely catastrophic, but none the less influential. A winter that is a little colder will not destroy a complete species, but will allow the survival of those members that, perhaps by chance, cope best with the colder season. This process will then have nudged the species in the direction of favoring the cold survival trait. Future generations tend to inherit this trait because the survivors will breed; those that did not survive will never breed again.

Played out over hundreds of millions of years, life adjusts, copes and explores the possibilities. No species is perfect, but survival alone is in itself a triumph. Life on Earth is a breathtaking exhibit of diversity, complexity,  beauty and sometimes absurdity, where every niche has been explored and occupied.

In the last paragraph of Origin of Species, Darwin wrote "There is a grandeur in this view of life." We are part of that grandeur, and should feel as one with all life on Earth.

"A Dispassionate View on Evolution" contributed by Gary Carlisle