Re: MD On Faith - Improbability ?

From: Scott Roberts (jse885@earthlink.net)
Date: Thu Oct 14 2004 - 19:10:54 BST

  • Next message: Scott Roberts: "Re: MD On Faith"

    Ian,

    > Sorry Scott, don't understand - what mechanistic point am I adding ?
    > Ian

    Earlier in the thread, I made clear that by "Darwinism" I meant the theory
    that evolution is caused solely through chance and natural selection, as
    propounded by Dawkins, Monod, etc. If you are using Darwinism in a
    different way, for example, not being concerned with how change comes
    about, but only focusing on natural selection, then you are using
    "Darwinism" differently. Since you haven't stated that you are, I have
    assumed that you meant "solely through chance and natural selection". That
    theory was developed in order to fit evolution into a Newtonian, that is,
    mechanistic universe: the belief that one doesn't need anything other than
    classical physics as an ultimate explanation for evolution. (Chaos and
    complexity theory are still mechanistic in this sense.)

    - Scott

    >
    > ----- Original Message -----
    > From: "Scott Roberts" <jse885@earthlink.net>
    > To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    > Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 3:30 PM
    > Subject: Re: MD On Faith - Improbability ?
    >
    >
    > > Ian,
    > >
    > > .
    > > > Why bother ?
    > > > In order to have a means of understanding, explaining and predicting,
    > and
    > > > hopefully influencing outcomes.
    > > > (I'm no defender of science or materialism, in the real world.)
    > >
    > > Why bother adding the mechanistic aspect to it, is what I mean.
    Selection,
    > > yes, is a help to understanding: those SQ that don't work well die out.
    > But
    > > chance, no, other than the sense that we don't know all that is involved
    > in
    > > producing new SQ.
    > >
    > > - Scott

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