Darwinian Evolution

Tenth slideshow for a course on science.

Transcript

1. Darwinian Evolution Explaining Life on Earth George Matthews CC 2017
2. What is an explanation?
3. What is an explanation? An account of the CAUSES of something,
4. What is an explanation? An account of the CAUSES of something, that shows why it had to happen of NECESSITY,
5. What is an explanation? An account of the CAUSES of something, that shows why it had to happen of NECESSITY, and enables the PREDICTION of what will happen in other related situations.
6. Assumptions Before Darwin
7. Assumptions Before Darwin ! Biblical creation story is true.
8. Assumptions Before Darwin ! Biblical creation story is true. ! Earth is a few thousand years old.
9. Assumptions Before Darwin ! Biblical creation story is true. ! Earth is a few thousand years old. ! Geological features are relatively fixed and stable.
10. Assumptions Before Darwin ! Biblical creation story is true. ! Earth is a few thousand years old. ! Geological features are relatively fixed and stable. ! Organisms do not change or go extinct.
11. Assumptions Before Darwin ! Biblical creation story is true. ! Earth is a few thousand years old. ! Geological features are relatively fixed and stable. ! Organisms do not change or go extinct. ! Living organisms are best understood as products of deliberate design.
12. Paley’s Watch If you found a watch in a beach you would be right in assuming that it was made by a designer. Living organisms are at least as complex as watches. So we are right in assuming that they were made by a designer.
13. The Facts of Life
14. The Facts of Life ! There is a huge variety of living things.
15. The Facts of Life ! There is a huge variety of living things. ! They are adapted to their environments.
16. The Facts of Life ! There is a huge variety of living things. ! They are adapted to their environments. ! They are NOT randomly distributed.
17. The Facts of Life ! There is a huge variety of living things. ! They are adapted to their environments. ! They are NOT randomly distributed. ! They can be grouped by common structures, habitats, ways living.
18. The Facts of Life ! There is a huge variety of living things. ! They are adapted to their environments. ! They are NOT randomly distributed. ! They can be grouped by common structures, habitats, ways living. ! Their remains are in a definite order.
19. Life on Earth
20. Life on Earth
21. Life on Earth
22. Life on Earth
23. Life on Earth
24. Life on Earth
25. Life on Earth
26. Life on Earth
27. Life on Earth
28. Life on Earth
29. Towards Evolution
30. Towards Evolution ! Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): classification of animals and plants
31. Towards Evolution ! Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): classification of animals and plants ! Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): speculation about evolution
32. Towards Evolution ! Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): classification of animals and plants ! Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): speculation about evolution ! Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829): evolution of acquired characteristics
33. Towards Evolution ! Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): classification of animals and plants ! Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): speculation about evolution ! Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829): evolution of acquired characteristics ! Charles Lyell (1797-1875): uniformitarianism in geology
34. Towards Evolution ! Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778): classification of animals and plants ! Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802): speculation about evolution ! Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829): evolution of acquired characteristics ! Charles Lyell (1797-1875): uniformitarianism in geology ! Charles Darwin (1809-1882): formulates theory of evolution
35. Darwin’s Voyage
36. Darwin’s Voyage
37. Darwin’s Voyage
38. Darwin’s Voyage
39. Darwin’s Voyage
40. Darwin’s Voyage
41. Darwin’s Voyage
42. Darwin’s big idea
43. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection
44. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection 1. If there is a population of organisms . . .
45. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection 1. If there is a population of organisms . . . 2. and a natural source of variation among them . . .
46. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection 1. If there is a population of organisms . . . 2. and a natural source of variation among them . . . 3. and they compete for food, safety and mates . . .
47. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection 1. If there is a population of organisms . . . 2. and a natural source of variation among them . . . 3. and they compete for food, safety and mates . . . 4. and their variability is inherited . . .
48. Darwin’s big idea Evolution by natural selection 1. If there is a population of organisms . . . 2. and a natural source of variation among them . . . 3. and they compete for food, safety and mates . . . 4. and their variability is inherited . . . 5. then over time they will diversify, giving rise to new species.
49. Implications
50. Implications
51. Implications
52. Implications
53. Implications
54. Modern Creationism
55. Modern Creationism ! Part of Modern Christian Fundamentalism
56. Modern Creationism ! Part of Modern Christian Fundamentalism ! Scopes trial, Tennessee (1925): Should it be illegal to teach evolution?
57. Modern Creationism ! Part of Modern Christian Fundamentalism ! Scopes trial, Tennessee (1925): Should it be illegal to teach evolution? ! Arkansas (1982): Should “creation-science” and evolution receive equal treatment in schools?
58. Modern Creationism ! Part of Modern Christian Fundamentalism ! Scopes trial, Tennessee (1925): Should it be illegal to teach evolution? ! Arkansas (1982): Should “creation-science” and evolution receive equal treatment in schools? ! Dover, Pennsylvania (2005): Is “Intelligent Design” an alternative scientific theory of the origin of species?
59. Open Questions
60. Open Questions ! What is the origin of life?
61. Open Questions ! What is the origin of life? ! Does life exist on other planets?
62. Open Questions ! What is the origin of life? ! Does life exist on other planets? ! Is natural selection the major or most important factor in the evolutionary history of life on earth?
63. Open Questions ! What is the origin of life? ! Does life exist on other planets? ! Is natural selection the major or most important factor in the evolutionary history of life on earth? ! Can we use evolutionary theory to understand human psychology, society, or culture?