Evolution Sunday, Febraury 12

[Edx]

I expect from science that knowledge it is capable of giving- not a philosophy of life

Hmm, deja Vu.

What science gives a philosophy of life?

Ed

 

[truth above all else]

Hmm, deja Vu.

What science gives a philosophy of life?

Ed

evolutionary biology; but the whole doctrine of evolution is more complex than of a single scientific fact or hypothesis-and it is a doctrine- a belief involving many spheres of thought and by no means just science

 

[Opethian]

evolutionary biology; but the whole doctrine of evolution is more complex than of a single scientific fact or hypothesis-and it is a doctrine- a belief involving many spheres of thought and by no means just science

Evolutionary biology is NOT a belief. It is an understanding.

 

[Donkeytron]

I expect from science that knowledge it is capable of giving- not a philosophy of life

Can you give us an example of this "philosophy"?

 

[truth above all else]

Evolutionary biology is NOT a belief. It is an understanding.

absolutely "an individual's perception or judgement of a situation"

as Dobzhansky once wrote "Is evolution a theory a system or a hypothesis. It is much more-it is a general postulate to which all theories all hypotheses all systems must henceforth bow and which they must satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light which illuminates all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow.

 

[MewtwoX]

evolutionary biology; but the whole doctrine of evolution is more complex than of a single scientific fact or hypothesis-and it is a doctrine- a belief involving many spheres of thought and by no means just science

Confusing the Process of Evolution with Naturalistic Evolution.

As for the Dobzhansky quote, remember that he was reffering to Biology, not all concepts of life. Evolution is not applied to morality and the existence of God or Gods.

 

[Edx]

absolutely "an individual's perception or judgement of a situation"

as Dobzhansky once wrote "Is evolution a theory a system or a hypothesis. It is much more-it is a general postulate to which all theories all hypotheses all systems must henceforth bow and which they must satisfy in order to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light which illuminates all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow.

Why can you not seperate one persons opinion from the science itself?

Like I believe I told you last time, it wouldnt matter if Steven Jay Gould prayed to a giant Darwin head in his front room and advocated we all do the same, it says nothing about the threory itself. If Darwin had tried to incorporate his theory with some weird alien UFO cult, again, this doesnt not mean Evolution theory is a weird UFO cult religion.

Now understanding that, please tell us all again where is this philosophy of life that Evolution theory includes.

Ed

 

[truth above all else]

Now understanding that, please tell us all again where is this philosophy of life that Evolution theory includes.

Ed

the mechanism of evolution is a combination of chance and natural selection operating in the context of historical contingencies and changing environments by which all of creation descended from a single primordial ancestor which itself evolved from non living chemicals. This is not science but philosophy albeit a philosophy disguised as science. A corollary of this definition culd read..if we put a group of monkeys together with typewriters they will eventually give us the Encyclopedia Britannica, given enough time- billions of years according to the laws of chance..a complete inversion of the truth..ie) fall from paradise

 

[Silent Bob]

Evolution is not applied to morality and the existence of God or Gods.

Natural selection is similar to Adam Smith's theory or am I wrong?

 

[Edx]

the mechanism of evolution is a combination of chance and natural selection operating in the context of historical contingencies and changing environments by which all of creation descended from a single primordial ancestor which itself evolved from non living chemicals. This is not science but philosopyalbeit a philosophy disguised as science.

No, thats your uneducated opinion. Theres no philosophy of life there.

ut a group of monkeys together with typewriters they will eventually give us the Encyclopedia Britannica, given enough time- billions of years according to the laws of chance..a complete inversion of the truth..ie) fall from paradise

See, you have no idea how evolution works. Youve been on this forum liong enough to know better, and you know we know that you know, so why type this stuff knowing its nonsence?

Ed

 

[Silent Bob]

A corollary of this definition culd read..if we put a group of monkeys together with typewriters they will eventually give us the Encyclopedia Britannica, given enough time- billions of years according to the laws of chance..a complete inversion of the truth..ie) fall from paradise

This is a strawman. More like evolution is: A group of monkeys with typewriters with the ability to copy with mistakes. And also an editor (natural selection) who picks some pages the monkeys wrote to be given back to the monkeys to copy again. The 'good' errors will accumulate with the 'bad' errors being thrown away. Then you will end up with a text. Not Britannica but something (it could be Britannica or it could be encarta or it could be a new book).

The 'editor' in evolution is uninteligent and works by simple logic. An error which allows an organism reproduce and survive better then it will become dominant. If an error doesn't affect reproduction then it remains but it doesn't spread as fast or widely (unless the enviroment changes making the error possitive e.g. antibiotic resistance). If an error stops reproduction or reduces reproductive success then it naturally dies out.

If the groups are seperated then errors (possitive or neutral) stop flowing between the two or more groups and that leads to speciation.

It is kinda amazing the way this happens which is why I am drawn to evolution so much. To me it shows how amazing God is to have designed such a simple yet capable mechanism.

 

[gluadys]

Natural selection is similar to Adam Smith's theory or am I wrong?

I think Malthus had more influence on Darwin's thesis than Adam Smith.

 

[cerad]

On 12 February 2006 hundreds of Christian churches from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science.

Wonder if they will invite Richard Dawkins as a guest speaker?

 

[gluadys]

Wonder if they will invite Richard Dawkins as a guest speaker?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he does get an invitation. Ken Miller too.

 

[Hydra009]

I dunno, I don't think Dawkins would be a good choice to have speaking at a church. I don't think the that whole Root of All Evil thing won him too many theist friends. Besides, Evolution Sunday seems like a more theist kind of thing, anyway. Reconciling religion with science isn't really an atheist's expertise.

 

[Stellar Vision]

Wow and Feb. 12 is my birthday. Great choice to pick that day!

 

[DailyBlessings]

Reconciling religion with science isn't really an atheist's expertise.

It should be- I've met swarms of atheists who consider themselves experts on religion.

 

[herev]

At the Clergy Letter Project website they are advertising Evolution Sunday. They give the following statement about the intentions and goals of Evolution Sunday:

On 12 February 2006 hundreds of Christian churches from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

If your church would like to join this national event, please send a note to mz@uwosh.edu. We welcome your participation.

you will find my name proudly displayed on the list:
The Rev. Tommy Conder
First United Methodist Church
Landis, NC

 

[herev]

I've just searched some more--found a number of my friends on there, too