As long as humans have populated the Earth and have possessed the ability to reason and understand their surroundings, they have had varying theories on the origin of life. Competing against each other for a place in the spotlight, many argue that there is only room for one correct answer; when there is no reason that multiple theories cannot be combined to produce a valid argument for the origin of life. As well, the same theory does not necessarily need to be the singular theory for the origin of life everywhere in the universe. There could possibly be multiple explanations for life, depending upon what beginning point is chosen; whether it be a planet, galaxy, star system or otherwise. Some even suggest that there may very well be no beginning or ending point that; the universe is infinitely old and will continue to expand and contract into infinity. For the purpose of this particular argument, we need a point of reference; a beginning point of Earth, third planetary mass from its sun, at a time before hominids appeared on the scene to postulate and argue about from where they had come. Currently, there are two primary theories that continue to be at odds in society, Intelligent Design and Evolution.
Intelligent Design Theory
Here on Earth, the hominid Homo Sapien has seemingly always had an extreme infatuation with attempting to explain and understand their beginnings on Earth. For every progression of this particular species’ psychological growth, there have been new explanations put forth, proposing the origins of life. Until just a few hundred years ago, most of them have been metaphysical in nature. Excepting science, most of them are consistent in their claim that one deity or another assembled and continues to direct the process of life in the universe.
The most current incarnation of this theory, Intelligent Design suggests that certain aspects of the universe are so complex that they must have been the direct result of intervention by a designer of such superior intelligence and presence, to be beyond the scope of human understanding and comprehension. Recently, theologians and a few scientists involved in Quantum Theory and Molecular Biology, have attempted to explain that because of the complexity of things such as DNA, in comparison with our own advances in technology, necessitates an intelligent designer. Unfortunately, there is no way of verifying or testing this alleged connection.
The only evidence that can be scientifically tested and validated for Intelligent Design has always been, and continues to be historical documentation. In one of only many ideologies; the two most dominant religions in the world, Christianity and Islam base their claims of Intelligent Design on original historical texts passed down through the centuries by the Jewish people. For more than 2000 years, the Jewish people have painstakingly followed extraordinarily strict guidelines for copying the original text, said to have been dictated letter for letter, from their god to a man named Moses. Under strict guidelines there is allegedly, no room left for error and the original 304,805 letters; they are the same as they were more than two millennia ago.
The originality of scrolls of text can be tested using the latest scientific techniques for dating antiquities and the most popular method of doing these age estimations is Radiocarbon dating. This type of dating, as well as many of the others, is based on the decay of particular atomic isotopes, in this case Carbon, and calibration methods more stringent than those employed to copy the Torah text are employed to avoid inconsistencies in data analysis. Having been tested innumerable times with consistent results since this technique was first discovered, it is considered to be extremely reliable up to 70,000 years. A recent test of it’s accuracy was in direct relation to a Jewish relic in 2001. One of the oldest known copies of a Sefer Torah was tested using this method, to verify its approximate age and was found to be every bit the 800 years old that had been assumed. Unfortunately, this same scientific analysis debunked the contention that nothing has ever been modified in the text, as they discovered several inconsistencies when comparing the 800-year-old text that was tested in 2001 to that of modern transcriptions.
Regardless, there is no question of the originality of these texts, however there continues to be debate on how these particular texts actually came to be written. While followers believe that they are the word of a god, that was transcribed by humans; this cannot be verified as factual and until proven otherwise, the documents remain philosophical writings by humans that can only be tested to ascertain their approximate age, to be placed at particular points in human history, not the validity of the claims made by ancient philosophical writers.
Evolution Theory
The very same methods used to verify the age of historical documentation supporting Intelligent Design are also used to validate an unintentional competitor of that theory. Evolution is the predominant scientific theory of how current life forms on Earth came to exist as we known them.
Evolution Theory was first formally suggested by Charles Darwin in his book entitled “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”. In this book, he theorizes not about the beginnings of life, but how life as we currently view it, evolved on Earth. This theory does not go as far as to claim that there was a singular source for the beginning of life, rather suggests that life, in one form or another has existed in the universe for billions of years and has been re-developing and modifying its own structure through minute transformations in a method of environmental adaptation referred to as “Natural Selection”.
It is rather difficult to know where to begin with Evolution, as it really does not have a beginning or an end. Evidence in support of this theory is varied and in-depth and many different scientific disciplines are used to validate ancient relics and analyze data related to the same. Beginning with Paleontology, the study of pre-historic life on earth, and assembling the recorded data from research done in Anthropology, Archaeology, Geology and Biology; combined with Phylogenetics and Homology, a distinct and easily understood historical record of life on earth presents itself.
Fossil records are the primary evidence in nearly all of these disciplines, are abundant throughout the planet and considered the most reliable source of information. Essentially, they are historical documentation of previously living organisms, literally time-stamped at the moment of death. Even after decomposition and being covered by thousands or even millions of years of sedimentation, some fossils retain their original genetic make-up, though it may lose most of its original physical structure; and genetic identification through DNA testing, coupled with radiometric dating easily validates a fossil’s time and species of origin. Though not an exact time-table, the geological time scales are republished regularly as techniques become more refined, but it typically does not shift significantly. Evidence of its accuracy is demonstrated by the famous Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary that marks the end of the dinosaurs. Continuous testing of this sedimentary layer, based on recalibrations since its discovery in the 1960s, has repeatedly and consistently been defined as being roughly 65 million years in age.
This same testing can be used to connect genetic sequences between species and show how environmental adaptation by means of involuntary physiological modification is possible. Physical fossil evidence actually linking the types together, as one having evolved from another, has been a difficult piece of the puzzle for Evolution, as most transitional forms are presumed to be rare oddities or deformations in species. While there have been several discoveries for a large variety of species on the planet, especially whales; the most important discovery relevant to Homo Sapien, has yet to be found. The oldest transitional form for Homo Sapien is the infamous 3.2-million-year-old fossil named “Lucy”, who more closely resembled an upright walking chimpanzee, walking upright being one of the defining characteristics of humans.
Most of this type of evidence is lost on many people because of the difficulty in understanding all of the various disciplines of science that come into play. There is more current data available, that is more easily understood and recognized. One example is the common house sparrow. This bird originally arrived in North America through human immigration in the 19th century. In only a few hundred years since their introduction to the continent, genetic variations have been naturally produced as a result of their unknowing selection of habitats. These birds have evolved darker colors and more weight in colder northern areas and lighter colors and less heavy birds in warmer southern areas of the country.
More recently, new evidence supporting Evolution comes directly from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and Deep Impact experiment. Deep Impact smashed into the comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005 and a cloud of expected materials, such as silicates and sand, as well as some unexpected materials. Among the unexpected were Clay, Carbonates (usually found in sea shells) and Aromatic Hydrocarbons (typically found in charcoal); which have never before been seen in comets. Overall, it is yielding a recipe for our solar system’s primordial soup. This new data supports ongoing research by NASA on “proto-cells” that are demonstrating how life could have accidentally landed on earth through organics in cosmic dust and slowly evolved more complicated organisms.
As just a few pieces of the overall puzzle, most scientists agree that there really is no hard evidence to prove Evolution as a Natural Law, yet. The search for evidence continues, while current evidence in support of this theory continues to be tested and verified. Fossil records cannot be denied in their display of the progression of life from simple organisms into more complex organisms. They are the historical documentation of geological records. Genetic mutations and deformations and their relationship to not just animals, but also on the molecular and sub-atomic level, is evident in the varying biological structures present today, as well as those that have been discovered and are continuing to be discovered. As with any scientific theory, Evolution continues to change, adapt and be further refined as new evidence is discovered to validate or refute previous presumptions.
Conclusion
While Evolution has some decided advantages through a rather impressive collection of empirical evidence with a supporting caste of other scientific disciplines; because Theoretical Physics and Quantum Mechanics are recognized scientific disciplines themselves, and sometimes employed in defining Intelligent Design, this particular theory cannot and should not be discounted as quickly and as readily as many scientists have. Intelligent Design deserves research and deserves to be questioned as endlessly as Evolution has been. It is only through these methods of questioning, assembling evidence in support of or against, as science is predisposed to do, that either of the theories will be found to be Natural Law. In order to be accepted as a scientific theory, Intelligent Design must allow itself to be questioned and analyzed in the same manner as Evolution.
Unfortunately, Intelligent Design Theory does not allow any further understanding of itself, much less the complexity of the world. It precludes any further investigation by simply stating that there is no better explanation than the one provided. Its ideas cannot be tested, evaluated, measured or in some instances, argued against. Until such time as evidence is presented in favor of this theory, and its supporters can substantiate the claims that it makes with empirical evidence, it should not be recognized as a scientific theory and certainly does not have a place in any science curriculum, as many of it’s current supporters have suggested that it should be. The idea itself is counter-productive to scientific advancement, by not allowing itself to be questioned, modified or rearranged as new discoveries are made. The very essence of this theory discourages scientific discovery by providing the perfect answer to any question put before it, simply stating that “It must have been [Insert Appropriate Deity Name] that caused it.” Unfortunately for this whole idea, scientific investigation requires that we must further question that statement by saying that for every design, there is a designer; so who designed the designer, and that designer’s designer, into infinity?
Science, as a quest for knowledge, requires every answer to be further questioned, until you reach an end-point, if there is such a thing. Evolution Theory, as a scientific theory, has always allowed itself and continues to allow questions, doubt and modification as new discoveries are tested, weighed and presented to the scientific community for clarification. It is one of many scientific, evidence-supported theories that are taught in Science curriculums around the world and should remain as such. It does not presume to state the origin of all life, rather how the scientifically accepted natural process on earth could have come together to form humans and all other life, as they are today. Charles Darwin specifically states this several times throughout his book, though it has been largely ignored by supports of Intelligent Design. In his final chapter, Recapitulation and Conclusion, he specifically states, “To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator; that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual.”
Personally, I have come to much the same conclusion as Charles Darwin. In addition, I do not perceive the idea of Intelligent Design as probable until more evidence is collected. There is always the possibility of an intelligent force still unknown to man that initiated life in the universe and from there, naturally occurring processes and a natural selection of more noble, wiser species evolved to their current biological state. This sentiment is echoed in many of the short interviews that I have had with others on this particular subject. Overall, it seems that the majority of people want to believe in both, though they feel they must choose a side; even then, Intelligent Design still begs more questions than it answers.
As science continues to advance, I have no doubt that we will come closer to those answers too; though the questions will undoubtedly become more complex. It has only been a few thousand or so years since man was firm in his belief that a deity crossed the sky in a flaming chariot, providing warmth and light for the benefit of all living things. Since that time, science has helped us to understand that what we are seeing is actually a huge gaseous ball of reacting hydrogen, millions of miles from our planet that has been floating in space since the beginning of time for our planetary system. As just one example of the thousands of previous human misconceptions of naturally occurring processes, it is proof enough to me that there are better answers to some questions than just attributing the cause to some mysterious and singular, unknown and immeasurable source.
References
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