Darwinian progress (Gould)
May 2nd, 2007 | Published in Evolution, Progress, Quotes, Science | 2 Comments
The Darwinian mechanism includes no concept of general progress of universal betterment. The “struggle for existence” can only yield local appropriateness.
–Stephen Jay Gould, “An Evolutionary Perspective on the Concept of Native Plants,” in I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History (2002), 340
May 4th, 2007 at 1:48 am (#)
What exactly is the argument being put forward here? It cannot be that evolution is false, as it is easily proven that this statement is accurate: Squirrels could not survive on the moon. Therefore, the contention is, perhaps, that evolution cannot produce “perfect beings” whereas a theistic creator could? Whilst this is possible, that is not to say that it has happened – human beings ARE locally appropriate. Without technological assistance, we are no more able to survive on the moon than a squirrel.
So the choice you are presenting here, then, is between a natural process which will not necessarily lead to a “perfect being”, or a creator that has actively chosen NOT to make us perfect?
May 4th, 2007 at 10:14 am (#)
The argument is that there is no ladder of progress with evolution. It only produces local adaptations that fit to the environment. Gould, of course, was one of the best defenders evolution of our time and co-founded punctuated equilibrium.