Re: MD On Faith - Improbability ?

From: Scott Roberts (jse885@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Oct 15 2004 - 16:33:21 BST

  • Next message: Chuck Roghair: "RE: MD Question of the Ages"

    Jim,

    > >But why is Darwinism
    > >treated as scientific? The theory is untestable, as far as I can see.
    > >
    > Sorry for butting in...
    >
    > Not strictly true. There are a few retrodictions that constitute tests,
    > although not in the standard set-up experiment & compare results to
    > theory basis.
    >
    > Darwin 'predicted' that there would be soft bodied Precambrian species
    > whose imprints were less readily preserved than the mineralized
    > skeletons of animals living in the Cambrian. These have subsequently
    > been found. He also 'predicted' that there was a land-water precursor
    > to the whale, again the fossil of such a creature has subsequently been
    > found.
    >
    > Okay, I appreciate that these retrodictions are quite general in their
    > nature but their accuracy (although not proving neo-Darwinism) does
    > indicate some form of evolution as opposed to creation. Of course you
    > can never rule out the existence of a parameter so arbitrary it can be
    > fitted to any data by this method but here the basic premise that
    > something does not come from nothing stands up withough having to invoke
    > such a parameter. And such retrodictions are considerably more testable
    > than the vague assertions of the ilk "I can't believe a human evolves
    > from a fish".

    As far as I know no one is supporting creationism here, nor is anyone
    denying natural selection as a way of weeding out non-adapted forms (which
    is practically tautological). When I say Darwinism, I have been explicitly
    using it in the sense of evolution solely through chance and natural
    selection. I don't see how the evidence you describe indicates that
    evolution comes about through "solely through chance" and natural
    selection, rather than in some other way.

    - Scott

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