Theory of Evolution Analysis - Essay Example

The Theory of Evolution: An overview of the theory: The theory of evolution was proposed by the famous English naturalist, Charles Darwin in the 1800s (Baig, 2002). According to the theory of evolution, all species existent today have changed in form, shape or characteristics over the period of time. Various factors including environment have played a fundamental role to alter the physical and mental abilities of all living beings. In fact, the theory asserts that all species originated from the same ancestors. Characteristics of the species kept modifying from time to time as per the need of the habitat. What are birds today, used to be reptiles in the time, the world came into being. Whales used to be bears. Leave apart other animals and birds, even humans are the modified form of apes. The theory of evolution asserts that what was useful in the body kept maturing, and what was needless, kept declining. Wings of more useful for some reptiles as legs were for others, though both had wings and legs. The former developed ability to fly while the latter lost it with the period of time. Similar concepts hold true for other species. This way, living beings kept evolving over the years, and ultimately, turned into something completely different from the ancestors in physique and intelligence. Why theory of evolution is so controversial? “Theory” is defined by the American vernacular as an “imperfect fact”. (Moran, 1993). Likewise, Darwin’s assertion has conventionally remained imperfect and controversial. The theory of evolution faces more crisis day by day as more advancement is being made in such fields as molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry (Darwin’s Theory, 2010). Genetics fundamentally asserts that evolution is an abstract concept. Evolutionists believe that early cells degenerated into thousands of species that survived. However, what causes an organism to survive remains unexplained. Natural selection or mutations make no reference to any genetic data in the DNA of an organism. Recent scientific advancements suggest that DNA stores all information about the characteristics of am organism. “DNA makes RNA, RNA makes protein and proteins make us” (Crick cited in Rance, n.d., p. 320). With the advancement in science, it has been discovered that there exists no mechanism to modify the natural genetic code in the organisms. However, transition of an organism from one form into another is not possible without a change in genes. Therefore, Darwin’s theory remains invalid in the light of modern biological body of knowledge. In addition to scientific explanations, the theory of evolution has always attracted controversies because it fundamentally goes against the religious beliefs of a vast majority of people. Muslims and Christians are guided by their religious books in contrast to the theory of evolution. According to many religions, man had always been man since the start of the world. Most religions depict no biological difference between man of the past and the present. Likewise, Islam and Christianity both teach that it took God only few days to create Earth. However, Darwin’s theory of evolution is spread over millennia. Religion’s conflict with the theory of evolution is indeed, one of the biggest reasons why it is conventionally rejected. Scientists and atheists hold a firm belief in the theory of evolution. However, belief of scientists in the theory of evolution is as bogus as it ever was, when they considered Earth to have a flat surface and thought that sun revolved around the Earth (Jackson, n.d., p. 2). Paradoxically, laws of science themselves negate the theory of evolution. For example, the “law of biogenesis” and the “second law of thermodynamics” are two of the widely employed laws that fully oppose the theory of evolution. Hence, there are scientific and individualistic reasons for people’s general rejection of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Will the theory ever be accepted? No, the theory of evolution will never be accepted in my opinion. Although conventional reasons for rejecting the theory of evolution are well known and convincing, yet my ideology for rejecting the theory is quite different. First, there is no point considering its justification when my religion teaches me against it. However, even if I do not look at it from my religious perspective, I can not identify a single reason to believe it. How many of us have ever seen humans with tails? I have read a large volume of books ranging from modern to ancient. Apart from the theory of evolution, I never came across a single book that is not a fairy tale, and yet tells that the present generation of humans finds its forefathers in the apes. The most ancient philosophers we know today belong to the age of Plato. There are very few, that were yet older and are known today. Then who was there millions of years ago to provide evidence for Darwin’s assertion that humans used to be apes? It is also, one of the many faults in the theory of evolution that it does not sufficiently explain how life originated on Earth (Meek, 2004, p. 196). Leave apart literature, we have pictures of humans from 15th century, and even older periods. I never came across a single picture that told me humans of that age used to be different than us even by a single percent. They were just as completely humans as we are today. Darwin fundamentally made use of millennia in his assertion in order to lend a touch of rationality to an obviously fake theory because no one in conscious memory could think of a period when man was in the stage of transition from apes to human. Also, the environment has changed significantly since then. The world has fallen prey to global warming. Weather used to be very different few centuries ago. Then why did the process of evolution stop? People will realize this fact and always tend to reject the theory of evolution. “It was, and remains, an astonishingly powerful theory and, of course, the most controversial and bitterly opposed scientific theory of all time” (Plotkin, 1993, p. 32). References: Baig, M. (2002, April 28). The Evolution Theory. Retrieved from http://www.albalagh.net/kids/science/evolution.shtml. Darwin’s Theory Of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. (2010). All About Science. Retrieved from http://www.darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/. Jackson, W. (n.d.). Evolution – Fact or Theory? Retrieved from http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/Evolution-Fact-or-Theory.pdf. Meek, M. (2004). The Patterns of New Ideas: 300 Ideas for Products, Inventions and Improvements. USA: iUniverse, Inc. Moran, L. (1993). Evolution is a Fact and a Theory. Retrieved from http://www.talkorigins.org/pdf/evolution-fact.pdf. Plotkin, H. C. (1993). Darwin machines and the nature of knowledge. Great Britain: Penguin Books Ltd. Rance, H. (n.d.). The Synthetic Theory of Evolution. The Present is the Key to the Past. 320-329. Retrieved from http://geowords.com/histbookpdf/f14.pdf. Read More