Wilson proposes group selection rather than kin selection as the primary mechanism of evolution and this was enough to incur the wrath of Dawkins but obviously not that of the many who wrote these letters. It drew the biggest response of letters and e-mail in the history of the magazine and they were printed under the rubric of ‘Dawkins Delusion’.
As stated in a previous post, Evolutionary science: the coming quantum jump there are encouraging signs
that at least a significant proportion of evolutionary biologists are breaking
free of the neo-Darwinian strait jacket and the above is further evidence.
In the same issue of Prospect there is an article by Mark Henderson
lamenting that ‘politicians’ ignorance of science is disgraceful and
dangerous’. Agreed. But ironically
another article by Henderson, again in the same issue, gives a clue as to why
so many people in the UK, not just politicians, should have a less than
favourable perception of science, and why in some western countries like the UK so few young people are attracted to it. In an article entitled The science you
need to know, introduced as ‘Mark Henderson offers ten examples of the
ideas that people in public life should understand’ he makes a dogmatic, non
sequitur assertion totally outside the realms of science:
No rational human being, whether or not a scientist, could
make such an assertion. Not only is it unprovable it is against reason even as
a metaphysical proposition.
According to our best scientific evidence, and presumably
Henderson would accept this, 4 billion years ago the surface of our planet was
a desolate place, totally hostile to life. The atmosphere was not conducive to
the formation of living organisms. (See the recent NASA finding for a surprising
discovery: Earth’s early atmosphere: an update. It appears oxygen was
present only 500 million years from the start, which was 4.3 billion years, overturning decades of assumptions. Ironically, as the
article states, it is even harder to imagine life beginning in this situation
than if it consisted of methane, ammonia etc., as was previously supposed.) The surface was probably just molten rock, volcanoes, steam and hot
water, all subject to the late heavy bombardment of meteorites.
| Is sitting at your computer reading and thinking about this an improvement? |
If that is not progress, what
is?
see also
The doctrine of chance
Stanley Miller and the quest to undesrtand life's beginnings (Sci. Am. blog)
John
Author of the novel 2077 AD, now being revised and updated.
Reach me at cosmik.jo@gmail.com
