The explanatory power of evolution

AnotherAtheist · Jan 12, 2018

Isn't it true that the scientific theory of evolution has such explanatory power that it can finally answer the question: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Which is clear the egg, because the ancestors of the chicken were laying eggs eons before there ever were any chickens. So, eggs had a long time to wait before their contents were chickens.

mozo41 · Jan 12, 2018

evolution is the a/effect life has on matter

AnotherAtheist · Jan 12, 2018

mozo41 said:
evolution is the a/effect life has on matter

But here, the theory of evolution is a human construct that can explain the world, and answer long standing questions.

mozo41 · Jan 12, 2018

AnotherAtheist said:
But here, the theory of evolution is a human construct that can explain the world, and answer long standing questions.

if so ... answer me this

how do we take thought ... as in how do we reason ...

AnotherAtheist · Jan 12, 2018

mozo41 said:
if so ... answer me this

how do we take thought ... as in how do we reason ...

Do you mean within our own brains, or the superior external reasoning methods that we have developed?

mozo41 · Jan 12, 2018

AnotherAtheist said:
Do you mean within our own brains, or the superior external reasoning methods that we have developed?

yes i be referring to our mind ...

Galaxy Hunter · Jan 12, 2018

AnotherAtheist said:
Do you mean within our own brains, or the superior external reasoning methods that we have developed?

Superior compared to what? I assume you mean everything on Earth......a bit narrow-minded. My grandmother always used to say "We're so smart we're stupid".

AnotherAtheist · Jan 12, 2018

Galaxy Hunter said:
Superior compared to what? I assume you mean everything on Earth......a bit narrow-minded. My grandmother always used to say "We're so smart we're stupid".

Formal reasoning can be superior to human reasoning. As one example, Bayesian networks are much better at performing probabilistic reasoning that humans are capable of. There are many more examples.

SeventyOne · Jan 12, 2018

AnotherAtheist said:
Isn't it true that the scientific theory of evolution has such explanatory power that it can finally answer the question: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Which is clear the egg, because the ancestors of the chicken were laying eggs eons before there ever were any chickens. So, eggs had a long time to wait before their contents were chickens.

Creationism must have such explanatory power as well as it can also answer this question.

The Chicken, because it was created fully formed and already capable of reproducing it's own kind.

Galaxy Hunter · Jan 12, 2018

Even if humans did evolve from monkeys that doesn't mean God doesn't exist so if you win this debate how have you promoted atheism? It seems like you're fighting a battle in which a victory is meaningless to your cause.

FrumiousBandersnatch · Jan 12, 2018

Galaxy Hunter said:
Even if humans did evolve from monkeys that doesn't mean God doesn't exist so if you win this debate how have you promoted atheism? It seems like you're fighting a battle in which a victory is meaningless to your cause.

I suspect the idea is to 'promote' the theory of evolution by natural selection rather than atheism. Explanatory and predictive power are two major reasons for adopting a scientific theory.

Galaxy Hunter · Jan 12, 2018

Sorry, I'm new here. I thought atheists were here to promote atheism. I haven't yet figured out that their intentions are much more noble.

Speedwell · Jan 12, 2018

Galaxy Hunter said:
Sorry, I'm new here. I thought atheists were here to promote atheism. I haven't yet figured out that their intentions are much more noble.

The discussions on this board are not generally about atheism versus theism, but about science, evolution and creationism. Consequently it generally lines up as creationists versus everybody else, theists and atheists alike.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 12, 2018

There are many theories about where we all came from, but the important question on most people's mind is, where do we go when we die?" Of course, no one has been able to come back from the dead to tell us, so for many people it is a fearful mystery. Paul the Apostle said, "If I had hope just in this life, I would of all men be most miserable." As there are no atheists in battle ground foxholes, I doubt that there would be many atheists once they reach their death beds. Or might I say not many peaceful or happy atheists...

I guess we will all find out the truth 5 minutes after we are dead.

pitabread · Jan 12, 2018

Oscarr said:
As there are no atheists in battle ground foxholes

That's a pile of horse doody.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 12, 2018

pitabread said:
That's a pile of horse doody.

I had a close friend of my parents' who was a New Zealand soldier in the Western Desert in World War II, and he says that it was a common expression among the soldiers there. He says that it was amazing how professing atheists started calling on God to protect them when the German bombers came over and the artillery shells landed all around them.

Sanoy · Jan 12, 2018

Yes but that doesn't contain any explanatory scope as to why it crossed the road.

AV1611VET · Jan 12, 2018

AnotherAtheist said:
Isn't it true that the scientific theory of evolution has such explanatory power that it can finally answer the question: what came first, the chicken or the egg?

From the scientific theory of evolution POV, yes, the egg came first.

From the creationist POV, the chicken came first.

AnotherAtheist said:
Which is clear the egg, because the ancestors of the chicken were laying eggs eons before there ever were any chickens. So, eggs had a long time to wait before their contents were chickens.

Only if you arbitrarily factor deep time into the equation.

Something the Bible does not account for.

Science's explanatory power comes from trial-and-error; and in many cases, can only work after theories are tweaked, numbers are crunched, and data is force-fit.

Computers facilitate these processes and, if necessary, scientists will rig a vote to get the results they are seeking.

pitabread · Jan 12, 2018

USincognito · Jan 12, 2018

SeventyOne said:
Creationism must have such explanatory power as well as it can also answer this question.

The Chicken, because it was created fully formed and already capable of reproducing it's own kind.

It was the egg.
Red junglefowl laid eggs before chickens were domesticated.
Galliformes laid eggs before chickens came to be.
Bird laid eggs 120,000,000 years before chickens.
Amniotes laid amniotic eggs 300,000,000 years before chickens.
Animals were producing eggs 600,000,000 years before chickens.

It's always the egg.

The explanatory power of evolution

Gimmie dat ol' time physical evidence

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Gimmie dat ol' time physical evidence

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Gimmie dat ol' time physical evidence

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SCIENCE CAN TAKE A HIKE

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a post by Alan Smithee

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