Scientific Evidence on Evolutionary Theory

Evolution- Your Inner Fish

Summary

The origin of life is an issue that has attracted debates for decades and has been the subject of arguments in different fields. Evolutionism and creationism have made an effort to answer this question by providing different perspectives about it. While creationism is largely influenced by religious beliefs and views, evolution is largely influenced by historical scientific evidence. Jerry Coyne seeks to demonstrate that evolution is true in its explanation of the origin of life in his book, Why Evolution is True. To prove that evolution is true, Coyne (2010) drives out common fears and misunderstandings regarding this theory. He provides clear scientific evidence and confirmation that supports evolution as the correct explanation of where life originated. Evolution is proven by natural selection and evidence from other disciplines/fields such as anatomy, genetics, geology, molecular biology, paleontology, physiology, comparative embryology, and biogeography.

At the heart of Coyne’s argument that evolution is true is the idea of natural selection and gradualism. With regards to natural selection, Coyne suggests that life origins from nature act since things develop randomly. Therefore, nature acts influence the formation of life and the development of the universe. With respect to gradualism, Coyne argues that things change over time. In essence, organisms undergo changes over time such as how birds become reptiles. However, some of Coyne’s ideas are disproven by existing evidence including the disregard for fossils that are inconsistent with evolution. The idea that things do not make sense biologically in light of evolution is shown to be false by the numerous biological achievements before the theory. However, regardless of these defects, Coyne satisfactorily proves that evolution is true.

My understanding and perceptions of evolution have changed this term, especially after reading the book Why Evolution Is True. Based on insights obtained from the course, I have learned that there is overwhelming scientific evidence that demonstrates the veracity of the theory of evolution. Existing scientific evidence on this concept is applicable to diverse fields in the areas of science and medicine. The applicability of ideas of evolutionary theory to other disciplines provides a broader basis for understanding the concept and its applicability. In addition, this proves that the concept of evolution is holistic in its explanation of the origin of mankind. Therefore, existing scientific evidence proves that evolution is the accurate answer to the question of the origin of humans.

Why Evolution is true

Evolution and creation are two topics that have generated numerous controversies among scholars in different fields and the general public. The controversies surrounding these topics occur from their contradictory or differing views on the origin of life. Debates on the origin of life have been made worse by the existence of theories providing believable explanations and evidence to demonstrate their points. It is similar to the story of creation; the evolution theory has reasonable evidence to support its claims regarding the origin of life. While these two different views have reasonable evidence to support their claims, there have been concerns about whether they provide sufficient scientific evidence. Scientific evidence is basically at the core of controversies surrounding the debate regarding evolutionism and creationism. This paper is a personal reflection on why I believe that evolution theory is true and provides sufficient scientific evidence on the origin of life.

Components of the Theory of Evolution

In his book, Why Evolution Is True, Jerry A. Coyne defines the theory of evolution by describing six components. Coyne (2010) attempts to address the issue of evolution by providing a detailed explanation of the theory based on its major components. He seeks to promote an understanding of the principles of evolution, which is essential for one to fully appreciate our world and understand how life came to be. In so doing, Coyne (2010) bases his ideas and thoughts on Charles Darwin’s theory and provides scientific evidence to prove the veracity of evolutionism as the correct explanation of the origin of life.

According to Coyne (2010), the first component of this theory is evolution itself. This component implies that species usually undergo genetic changes over time. The evolution of species is based on DNA changes, which are brought about by mutations. For example, species of modern animals and plants did not exist in the past but originated from earlier species. Humans evolved from the past ape-like creatures. However, species do not evolve over time at the same rate because of variations in evolutionary pressures that they experience.

The second component of this theory is gradualism, which suggests that substantial evolutionary change takes many generations to produce. For example, the evolution of features that differentiate mammals from reptiles does not occur in one or a few generations. It takes thousands to millions of generations for such features to develop. While some evolutionary changes can occur rapidly, substantial ones take multiple generations to occur.

The third component of this theory is speciation or splitting, which is influenced by the fact that life is diverse. While there are many living species, most of them share some essential traits. There are millions of species that inhabit the world today, which implies that life is diverse. The existence of millions of species implies that evolution not only involves a gradual genetic change within a species otherwise only one species would have been in existence today. Despite species sharing some fundamental traits, they are diverse. One ancestral form of a species produces various diverse species since it undergoes numerous splitting events. However, species do not necessarily split. Speciation or splitting of species depends on whether circumstances permit populations to evolve sufficient differences.

The fourth tenet of this theory is common ancestry, which is essentially the flip side of speciation or splitting. Scientific evidence shows that descendant lineages can be found fusing at their ancestors. Species share some fundamental traits because they originate from a common ancestor. Coyne (2010) contends that creatures with a recent common ancestry share many fundamental traits while those with a distant past common ancestry are more diverse. The idea of common ancestry is the premise upon which verifiable predictions about evolution are made.

The second last component of the theory of evolution is natural selection, which refers to the effect of nature acts on evolution. Nature acts account for the individual variations that influence changes that occur in species over time. Natural selection demonstrates that life and changes in species take place through unguided processes. Natural selection is the process by which the first mechanism was driven to reproduce molecules into millions of living forms and fossils (Coyne, 2010).

Finally, Coyne (2010) states that processes other than natural selection also cause evolutionary change. This component of the evolutionary theory emphasizes that random changes occur in species and have nothing to do with adaptation. These random changes are due to the fact that different families of species have different numbers of offspring.

The Process of Evolution

As a student-athlete golfer, I have always taken time to reflect on what is the origin of life. I must admit that reading theories of evolution as well as creationism, I have ended up being confused on what is the actual origin of life. I believe that each of these theories provides reasonable evidence to support their claims regarding the issue of the origin of life. My reflections on what is the origin of life have largely been driven by the desire to live a life with a purpose and make an impact in my community. I am a person with a big heart and grounded. I have also grown a lot by being away from home in college. My college experience has enabled me to reflect on critical things about life including what is the origin of life. I believe that identifying the origin of life is important to living a purposeful life.

My mission to identify the origin of life has involved reading many books and articles on evolution and creationism.

Based on the insights obtained from this course, I believe that evolution is true as it provides reasonable scientific evidence on the origin of life. Evolution theory has certain evidence that proves it is the right explanation of the origin of life. Evolution is proven by natural selection and evidence from other disciplines/fields such as comparative anatomy, genetics, geology, molecular biology, paleontology, physiology, comparative embryology, and biogeography. Through natural selection and incorporating insights from these fields, evolution provides outstanding, varied, and huge scientific evidence regarding the origin of life.

Key Insights from Why Evolution Is True

Coyne’s book attempts to address the current controversy regarding evolution and creation by providing scientific evidence to support evolutionism. He does not attempt to prove creationism wrong but focuses on providing convincing evidence to demonstrate the accuracy of evolution. To demonstrate that evolution is true, Coyne (2010) dismisses common fears and misunderstandings regarding this theory. He provides clear scientific evidence and confirmation that supports evolution as the correct explanation of where life originated. This book has formed a critical part of my understanding that evolution has scientific accuracy on the origin of life.

Evolution by Natural Selection

One of the key points shared in the book and obtained from the course relates to the process of evolution by natural selection. Evolution is basically the idea that things change over time. However, based on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection or the Darwinian Evolution, things not only change over time as there are individual differences influencing this process. In this regard, the change exploits individual differences and removes those that are pointless or those without any benefits to the organism feeling the changes. As many differences have occurred over a period of time, evolution is considered to have contributed to all life through natural means.

This suggests that life basically develops from nature acts that take place through unguided processes. Therefore, the origin of life and the development of the universe can be explained only by naturalistic explanations since they are influenced by nature acts. Natural selection is the process by which the first mechanism was driven to reproduce molecules into millions of living forms and fossils (Coyne, 2010).

Evolution and Other Disciplines

The idea of evolution as the right explanation of where life originated is also supported by the presence of insights from other disciplines or fields. The idea of evolution from genetics is supported by the theory of gradualism. Gradualism suggests that it takes many generations to create significant evolutionary change such as how birds develop to become reptiles. Species usually evolve into something different, which indicates that they undergo changes over time. The changes that take place in species are based on changes in the DNA that occur as mutations. I believe that there is evidence to demonstrate that changes occur to species over time. A recent example of such evidence is the development of different variants of COVID-19. These variants are basically mutations of species due to changes over a period of time. This indicates that species do not necessarily remain the same over time because changes occur. Such evidence proves the claim that life and the development of the universe come from changes that occur in species over time.

Paleontology supports the concept of evolution as the explanation of how life originates through examining prehistoric life. According to this field, organisms become part of the ground as they die. During this process, organisms leave behind imprints and bones that provide insights into what they looked like millions of years later. This creates a fossil record that helps to show how organisms changed over time. For example, paleontologists found the spread of ancient species assumes that continents were once joined (Coyne, 2010). The evolution of organisms over time supports the idea of gradualism, which is a key theory underlying evolution theory.

The field of biogeography is essentially the study of the distribution of species on Earth. As noted by Coyne (2010), there is strong biogeographic evidence to support the theory of evolution though this field is rooted in religion. The idea of species evolving from a common ancestor and being distributed on Earth was first proposed by Charles Darwin. Based on his observation of Galapagos Islands animals and those on the South American mainland, Darwin believed that the former had migrated from the last. I believe this is true since the similarity of environments does not produce the same kind of organisms. For instance, there are some very icy and cold environments across the globe such as the Antarctic and Arctic that do not produce the same kinds of organisms. If comparison in environment would produce similar organisms, animals that survive in very icy and cold environments would be common in all such settings. The similarity of organisms in different environments shows origin from a common ancestor.

Comparative anatomy supports the idea of evolution on grounds that organisms that are related have similar characteristics. Related organisms are likely to have similar characteristics since they originated from a common ancestor. In addition, related organisms are likely to have a similar adaptation of physiological processes. Comparative anatomy basically relates to the similarities and variations in the structure of various animals. At the core of comparative anatomy is common ancestry, which is the premise with which species share some fundamental traits. Species begin to develop in the same way but could end up having some different traits depending on the evolutionary changes they experience. For instance, all vertebrates begin development in the same manner but could end up having different species depending on evolutionary factors. As they undergo developmental stages and processes, some vertebrates begin losing organs, nerves, and blood vessels that were present in the embryos resulting in the emergence of different species. Also, humans can cope with ongoing changes in the environment in a healthy manner because of their capabilities to adapt to physiological processes as part of changes over time. This implies that all vertebrates are similar at the embryo stage but could become different over time. Therefore, the similarity of species at early stages of development is influenced by a common ancestry whereas differences in later developmental stages are brought about by evolutionary changes.

Also, the field of comparative embryology bolsters evolutionary theory through the idea that all vertebrates develop in the same manner, which indicates that they have an assumed common ancestor. The development of embryos is a sign of the existence of a common ancestor underlying the process. Geology supports evolutionary theory by supporting paleontology. In this case, devastating geological events could have generated evolutionary blockages that changed life.

Molecular biology supports the accuracy of the evolutionary theory in explaining the origin of life by emphasizing the role fossils play in this process. This field basically entails the process of change in the composition of cellular molecules like RNA and DNA across generations. Using fossil records, molecular biology points to the ability of diverse species to emerge from a common ancestry due to evolutionary change. Diverse species emerge after similar species begin to develop varying traits depending on the evolutionary changes they undergo. Coyne (2010) notes that scientists and professionals in the field of molecular biology have found that birds have the genetic pathways for developing teeth. However, birds do not produce teeth because they miss a single important protein. Birds could produce tooth-like structures when such protein is supplied. Birds have the genetic pathways to develop tooth-like structures because they share common ancestry with toothed reptiles. While they still carry genes to produce teeth, birds lost teeth over sixty million years ago. This implies that even though birds have genes to produce teeth and share a common ancestry with toothed reptiles, they have undergone splitting because of evolutionary changes over time.

Therefore, molecular biology supports the theory of evolution by demonstrating changes in the cellular molecules of different generations of species. The changes in birds from toothed reptiles is are examples of changes in cellular molecules that have occurred in these species over time. Consequently, modern species of birds have different cellular molecules compared to those that existed more than sixty million years ago. These variations indicate how these species have undergone evolutionary changes over time.

I believe that the underlying principle behind how these fields support evolutionary theory is gradualism and natural selection. Gradualism is basically the idea upon which changes in organisms and species take place over time. These changes occur through a process of natural selection, which suggests that nature acts. Therefore, gradualism and nature acts are the grounds upon which life originates and develops. Moreover, evidence from each of these fields provides a broad range of explanations regarding the origin of life. By providing a wide basis of scientific evidence, these fields of study demonstrate the truth of evolutionary theory on the origin of life.

Importance of Understanding Evolution in Other Areas of Science and Medicine

As evident in the above discussion, insights obtained from other disciplines enhance the scientific rigor of the theory of evolution as an accurate explanation of the origin of life. This demonstrates that the question of the origin of life cannot be fully understood without examining insights from other fields. It is important to understand evolution in other areas of science and medicine in order to have a holistic view of this concept/theory in relation to the issue of the origin of life. Examining other areas of science and medicine would help enhance the scientific evidence of the theory in explaining the origin of life. This implies that failure to consider other areas of science and medicine provide a limited understanding of the evolutionary theory. In addition, examining other areas of science and medicine helps to improve understanding of human origin, health, and disease.

Theory of Evolution Using the Scientific Method

As previously indicated, controversies on evolution and creation are centered on one thing i.e. evidence. Scientific evidence is viewed as convincing proof of where and how life originates. Debates on this issue have been centered on scientific evidence to support the contradictory claims in evolution and creation. The accuracy of evolutionary theory can be established by examining it using the scientific method.

The scientific method is primarily based on observation, investigation, and verification to prove the accuracy of something. These three components of the scientific method have consistently been used to support the evolutionary theory. At the core of the application of the scientific method in evolutionary theory is the concept of natural selection. Charles Darwin used observation, investigation, and verification to support his idea of natural selection as the fundamental principle behind evolutionary theory. Phillips (2019) notes that observation, investigation, and verification have consistently demonstrated that evolution is the true explanation of the origin of life based on the idea of natural selection.

Based on observation, it is apparent that things including life happen randomly through nature acts. However, the formation of life is influenced by environmental traits that either support or stop the process. In this regard, appropriate environmental traits help survival and reproduction, which is critical in the formation of life. These observations became the basis for the development of the Darwinian theory of evolution. The meaning of nature acts in promoting the formation of life is evident in the application of the theory of natural selection in different fields. As I noted previously, organisms survive and reproduce depending on environmental traits. Organisms produce life through nature acts that are beyond the control of humans.

As an explanation of the origin of life, the theory of evolution has undergone difficult testing through observations and experiments. Observations and experimentation that have been carried out for decades have been centered on proving whether it is the right or wrong explanation of the origin or formation of life. Investigations on the theory of evolution have been carried out by different scientists and philosophers over the past few decades. For example, Erasmus Darwin, an 18th Century English doctor, conducted investigations that resulted in the development of different aspects of evolution (National Geographic, 2022).

Erasmus Darwin’s recommendations of various aspects later became critical components of the eventual theory of evolution. His grandson, Charles Darwin, built upon his ideas to formulate the theory of evolution.

From an experimentation perspective, there has been a connection of investigations conducted by various scientists and philosophers to support the theory of evolution. Scientists and philosophers have built upon each other’s ideas to demonstrate the accuracy of this theory as an explanation of the origin of life. This process of connection has sometimes involved the introduction of new concepts and ideas that add to the scientific basis and evidence of the evolutionary theory. For example, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was a by-product of previous work by other scientists including his grandfather, Erasmus Darwin. Other scientists like Alfred Russell Wallace have added new ideas to this theory to boost its scientific accuracy as an explanation of the formation of life. Through their works, Wallace and Darwin proposed that evolution takes place because of the natural selection phenomenon. Given the recognition of natural selection as a strong idea explaining the formation of life, biologists have established it as a scientific theory. Biologists have used the ideas of previous philosophers and scientists to observe multiple examples of the influence of natural selection on evolution (National Geographic, 2022).

Experimentations on the evolutionary theory have also provided the premise for verification of the natural selection concept as they are used to influence things to generate results (Shubin, 2008). The idea of natural selection has been proven through the genetic idea phenomenon. The phenomenon proposes that some organisms generally produce more offspring than anticipated largely by chance.

Verification of the hypothesis that natural selection influences evolution has been carried out by examining how organisms change over time. Verification of this theory is also demonstrated in the wide application of the concept across different fields of study or disciplines. As previously indicated, the theory of evolution is applied in different fields including comparative anatomy, genetics, geology, molecular biology, paleontology, physiology, comparative embryology, and biogeography.

By examining how evolution is applied to these different disciplines, I demonstrated how the hypothesis is verified to support the evolutionary theory. However, Ayala (2009) states that Darwin advanced his ideas of evolution and its processes in multiple fields as part of subjecting them to severe empirical tests.

It is quite evident that the theory of evolution has undergone the scientific method to prove its reliability as the explanation of the origin of life. The theory has the scientific consistency to support its claims. The scientific method essentially confirms the evolutionary theory and improves understanding of its underlying mechanisms. Using the scientific method, it is evident that the evolution theory is compatible with each aspect of life including the development of intuition, embryology, adaptation, variation, regression, and the effect of environmental traits.

Assessment of Views, Assumptions, or Arguments

Coyne’s book, Why Evolution is True, includes discussions and experiments that prove that the evolutionary theory is scientifically sold. One of the views presented by Coyne (2010) in his book is the model of how species change over time. This model is based on the assumption that biological populations include organisms with the ability to survive or reproduce.

While Coyne’s book provides scientific evidence on the evolutionary theory, it puts more emphasis on biogeography and unique adaptations of some living things. In so doing, the book ignores the creationist position and changes that can be used to explain the origin of life. To support his biogeographic basis of the evolutionary theory, Coyne argues that some animals in South America migrated from Galapagos Island. He shows the idea that Africa and South America were seemingly a few inches apart when the Earth was created several years ago.

As a result, he argues that things occur similarly in relatively the same locations they were created. Coyne’s argument that things occur the same in relatively similar locations is not entirely true as there are differences in the development of organisms in similar conditions. It is obvious that different organisms can develop in non-convergent environments or adaptations. I believe that there is overwhelming scientific evidence to prove that the similarity of adaptations does not necessarily produce similar organisms.