EVOLUTION'S SPECIATION DILEMMA
According to the theory of evolution, all living things have descended from one another. Initially, a single-celled organism developed out of inorganic substances, and this gradually turned into another, and all subsequent species eventually developed in this way. According to the theory, this process covered a period as long as 3.7 billion years and took place in stages. Therefore, according to the theory proposed by Darwin, the extraordinary variety of life is simply a product of natural processes and random effects.
However, scientific findings completely refute this claim. Many branches of science, such as paleontology, genetics and biochemistry, clearly show that not one single living species, let alone biodiversity, can be accounted for in terms of evolution..
In dealing with the invalidity of Darwinism's claims regarding speciation, let us first provide some general information about biological classification.
Classification of Living Creatures
Try writing down the names of all the animals, plants and micro-organisms you have ever encountered or heard of. No matter how long your list, it will represent only a very small fraction of the living species on Earth. Suppose that others from different countries have also prepared such a list. A more comprehensive list may emerge when these are all combined together. But this time, the list will become confused because of some of the same life forms will be referred to by different names, or different ones by the same name.
To overcome these difficulties, biologists give every plant and animal a scientific name, such that all organisms are described according to a binomial classification system. The first word is generally Latin—a practice left over from the days when Latin was an international language. For example, the dogs you see every day are Latin-named Canis familiaris, and cats are Felis catus.
Scientific nomenclature makes it possible to distinguish between species whose common names are often confused. For instance, the bird known as the robin in Europe is different from the bird known by that name in America. Confusion has been prevented by giving these separate species different names. The European robin is properly known as Erithacus rubecula, and its American counterpart as Turdus migratorius.162
In addition to naming species both living and extinct, scientists also describe and classify them according to specific criteria. The science of naming, describing and classifying living things is known as taxonomy or systematics. For example, animals are classified according to such criteria as their body structures and systems, internal organs, developmental stages, behavior and genetic information. Information about extinct species is obtained from fossils.
The classification system in question consists of hierarchical categories, or seven main groups. In descending order of size, these are:
Every living thing occupies its own particular position in all of the above seven groups. (There are also sub-categories within this hierarchical classification.) For example, the tree we commonly refer to as the white pine is a member of the plant kingdom and of the phylum Tracheophyta. It is also a member of the class Pteropsida, the order Coniferales, the family Pinaceae, the genus Pinus and the species strobus.
The scientific name of the wolf, a carnivorous canine, is Canis lupus; it is also a member of the phylum of mammals, the order Carnivora, the family Canidae and the genus Canis.163
In this classification system, the largest unit is kingdom. Until the 20th century, most biologists divided the world of living things in two—either plants or animals. In the last century, however, progress in the fields of microbiology and biochemistry in particular revealed that this simple division didn't go far enough. Today, a five-kingdom classification is generally agreed upon. In addition to plants and animals, the fungi, protista and monera are also regarded as separate kingdoms.
The animal kingdom, containing more than 1 million described species, is the largest, made up of multi-celled organisms that digest food, generally move, and have complex systems and organs. The plant kingdom contains more than 260,000 species, which produce their own food by means of the exceedingly complex process of photosynthesis, and also meet the nutritional needs of other organisms. Fungi, which are not capable of photosynthesis and have no digestive systems such as those in animals, are a kingdom with some 100,000 members.
The Protista kingdom consists mainly of single-celled organisms with a cell nucleus, such as algae and diatoms. Some 100,000 members of this kingdom are known to exist. Monera, on the other hand, consists of single-celled organisms that lack any nucleus, such as bacteria: Some 10,000 species of this kingdom have been described.
In biological classification, the kingdoms are followed by phyla, whose number varies according to different biologists. Still, the classification of 32 animal phyla and 10 plant phyla is generally accepted. In the animal kingdom, all species in a particular phylum possess a similar body structure, although phyla are very different from one another. For example, the phylum that includes sponges is completely different from the phylum Chordata, which includes vertebrates—fish, mammals, birds and reptiles. The insects we are familiar with are of the phylum Arthropoda, the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, which also includes marine crustaceans.
Living things belonging to a particular class share many more common features than do members of a phylum. For example, birds, reptiles and mammals are all members of the phylum Chordata, but belong to different classes. Birds, which have wings and also feathers—a structure not to be found in any other animal group—are members of the class Aves. Reptiles, members of the class Reptilia, lay eggs, are cold-blooded and covered in scales. Mammals are members of the class Mammalia, and give birth to and suckle their young, are warm- blooded and generally covered in fur.
In biological classification, a class is divided into orders. The mammals with which we are familiar consist of 23 different classes. Those that feed on insects, like the mole and hedgehog, are members of the class Insectovira. Rodents such as mice and squirrels belong to the class Rodentia, and meat-eaters such as dogs and wolves belong to the class Carnivora.
The next rank is the family. Mammals, for instance, comprise more than 100 families. Though cats and dogs both belong to the class Carnivora, cats are members of the family Felidae, and dogs of the family Canidae.
Genera consist of living groups that bear a close resemblance to one another, but which are not generally able to crossbreed—dogs and foxes, for example, and different genera within the family Canidae. Dogs belong to the genus Canis, and foxes to the genus Vulpes.
The species is the basic unit in biological classification. A species may be described as a community of individuals that are able to reproduce among one another and share the same functional characteristics. Breeds or varieties within the same species typically have different scientific names. For example, the red fox is known as Vulpes vulpes, the desert fox as Vulpes zerda, and the long-eared fox as Vulpes macrotis. If there are different groups or varieties within a living species, each of these groups constitutes a different sub-species.
Living things are described and classified by biologists known as taxonomists. They divide into species those populations that mate only among themselves in nature, which give rise to viable offspring, and which resemble one another in terms of structural and functional properties. They determine the classification, such as the specific genus to which a species belongs, and which genera belong to which families.
Classifications by different taxonomists are basically similar, but still exhibit important differences. For example, five species may be grouped under one, two or three different genera. That is why scientists often differ and disagree regarding the classification of different living things.164
The Founders of Taxonomy
The classifications outlined above are vital in terms of scientific research and study. Some, however, imagine that classification is a part of the theory of evolution. The reason for this is evolutionist propaganda. Modern taxonomists are largely evolutionist biologists; and as a result, taxonomy and evolution are generally referred to in the same breath. Yet this is a grave error.
The foundations of taxonomy were laid before Darwin's theory of evolution was put forward. In addition, the founders of taxonomy were scientists who believed in God and creation.
The British scientist and theologian John Ray (1627-1705) led the way in classifying living things, in the sense this is understood today.165 Ray grouped plants, birds, mammals, fish and insects according to systematic criteria. Rather than classifying plants based on a single feature, he considered their structures in their entirety. He wrote several books on the subject, thus laying the foundations of the science of taxonomy. In his writings, he also set out his observations of the magnificent order in nature.166 Ray, who is remembered for his enormous contributions to science, stated that the systems and characteristics in living things were all marvels of creation, and expressed his views in these terms:
There is for a free man no occupation more worthy and delightful than to contemplate the beauteous works of nature and honour the infinite wisdom and goodness of God.167
The scientist regarded as the father of the modern biological classification system is the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778),168 who first used the two-part scientific nomenclature system and developed a classification based on hierarchical categories. He gave a great many species their scientific names (such as Homo sapiens for human beings).169 The year 1753, the year when the 10th edition of his book Systema Naturae was published, is regarded as the start of the science of taxonomy.170
Linnaeus named and classified plant and animal specimens collected by himself and his students from all over the world, paying close attention to their structural similarities and differences. The system he developed is still in use, largely unaltered, today. So successful is his system in the description and classification of living things that he has become one of the most eminent figures in the history of science.
Linnaeus believed that God created living things and that species do not change. He summed up his research in these words: "There are as many species as the Infinite Being produced diverse forms in the beginning."171 According to him, classification revealed the Divine Order of God's creation.172 The interrelated hierarchy in living things was a sign of creation in God's flawless order and harmony, and not of evolution, as Darwin later believed. In his books, Linnaeus frequently stated that the magnificent plan he observed in the natural world could have come into being only through God's creation.
Classification Is Proof of Creation
But the division of living things into hierarchical groups means something entirely different to evolutionists, who claim that biological classification is evidence for evolution. The Turkish biologist Ali Demirsoy, for example, makes this claim:
The characteristic of living things is that they are arranged according to a specific hierarchy in such a way as to form species, genera, families, orders, classes and kingdoms. Hierarchical arrangement is one of the most evident proofs of evolution. Were plants and animals not related among themselves, this hierarchical order could not have come about, and many groups would have developed in forms dissimilar to one another.173
Darwin and his followers attempted to use the work of such scientists as Ray and Linnaeus by distorting it. They portrayed similar structures among living things, and the classifications based on them, as evidence that living things were descended from a common ancestor.
In fact, however, a scientific explanation for similar structures among living things had been made before Darwinism came to dominate the scientific world. Natural scientists such as Carl Linnaeus and John Ray regarded the matter of similar characteristics among living things as an example of common creation. In other words, organs were similar not because they had evolved from a common ancestor, but because they had been created individually to serve a specific purpose. Modern scientific discoveries have confirmed this.174
Clearly, the classification of living things cannot be used as evidence in favor of evolution. For example, in his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Professor Michael Denton examined this claim in the light of the scientific data and concluded that the hierarchical structure was no proof of evolution.175
The fact is that in clutching at classifications, evolutionists are making a serious mistake. Products of artificial design—such as automobiles, furniture and paintings can also be classified hierarchically amongst themselves. Yet this does not prove that they came into being spontaneously or by chance; on the contrary, it demonstrates that they were designed and produced by conscious human beings, according to a specific blueprint. Living things on Earth can be classified too, but that's because they exist by being created by Omniscient and Almighty God, and not through unconscious coincidences as maintained by evolution.
Following this general outline of biological classification, let us now examine Darwinism's main difficultyin the light of modern scientific findings.
The Meaning of Variations
When Darwin's book The Origin of Species was published in 1859, he imagined that his theory could account for life's extraordinary diversity. He had observed that there were natural variations within a living species. Visiting animal fairs in England, for instance, he noted that breeds of cattle were very different, and that farmers could produce new breeds by selective crossbreeding. With this as his starting point, he then pursued the following logic: "Since living things can exhibit variety within themselves, then all of life can have descended from a single common ancestor of the course of long periods of time."
The fact is, however, that his hypothesis did not actually account for the origin of species at all. As the science of genetics advanced, it realized that variation within a species could never lead to a new species emerging. What Darwin imagined to be evolution was in fact variation.
Variation is a genetic phenomenon that causes individuals or groups within a species to exhibit different characteristics. For example, all the humans on Earth possess basically the same genetic information. But thanks to the variation potential that genetic information permits, some have dark skin, others red hair or blond, and some are tall in stature.
Variation can be very high even within a single species: Not only is there variation amongst humans in the genera and species of the bacteria that invade or live within us, but the organisms themselves often are highly diverse.176 For example, in dogs, one of the living species most familiar to us, there are a large number of variations: bulldogs, Italian poodles, German shepherds, Turkish Kangals, Dalmatians, Chows, Shih Tzus and many more such breeds. There are also many varieties in the fruit and vegetables we eat every day, with different tastes, nutritional contents, shelf lives and other characteristics.
But such variation represents no evidence for evolution. It represents only the emergence of different combinations of already existing genetic information, and does not endow resulting offspring with any new genetic information. The crucial question for the theory of evolution is of how brand-new information that can create—and define—a brand-new species could come into being.
Variation always takes place within the boundaries of genetic information, which bounds are referred to as the gene pool. All the characteristics in a living species' gene pool may emerge at various times, in various forms, thanks to variation. As a result, for example, breeds of reptiles may emerge with a longer tail or slightly shorter legs than others of their species, but the genetic information for a long tail or short legs already exists in the reptiles' gene pool. Yet variation cannot transform reptiles into birds by fitting them out with wings, adding feathers to them and altering their metabolisms. That's because such a transformation requires an increase in genetic information, but in variation, there is no question of such a thing occurring.
Darwin was unaware of all this when he launched his theory. At the time, it was believed that variations had no bounds. In 1844 he wrote: "That a limit to variation does exist in nature is assumed by most authors, though I am unable to discover a single fact on which this belief is grounded."177 In The Origin of Species he attempted to portray various examples of what were actually variation as the greatest evidence for his theory. In Darwin's view, for instance, crossbreeding different variations of cattle in order to produce cows with a greater milk output would eventually turn cattle into an entirely new species. The best expression of Darwin's idea of "unbounded change" is in these words from The Origin of Species:
I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale.178
The reason why Darwin was so confident in his examples lay in the primitive level of scientific understanding in his day. As the result of similar experiments on living things, however, 20th century science revealed the principle known as genetic homeostasis 179. This principle revealed that all attempts at crossbreeding were insufficient to change a living species and that between species, there were insuperable genetic barriers. In other words, the livestock breeders who mated different variations of cattle could not have produced another new species, as Darwin claimed. This was absolutely impossible.
Norman Macbeth, author of the book Darwin Retried, has this to say:
The heart of the problem is whether living things do indeed vary to an unlimited extent... The species look stable. We have all heard of disappointed breeders who carried their work to a certain point only to see the animals or plants revert to where they had started. 180
Luther Burbank, one of the most eminent authorities in the field of livestock raising, wrote that "there are limits to the development possible, and these limits follow a law."181
The biologist Edward Deevey describes how variation always takes place within specific genetic bounds:
Remarkable things have been done by cross-breeding... but wheat is still wheat, and not, for instance, grapefruit. We can no more grow wings on pigs than hens can make cylindrical eggs.
A more contemporary example is the average increase in male height that has occurred the past century. Through better health care (and perhaps also some sexual selection, as some women prefer taller men as mates), males have reached a record adult height during the last century, but the increase is rapidly disappearing, indicating that we have reached our limit. 182
In short, variations give rise to certain changes that always remain within the genetic limits of a species, but never impart to that species any new genetic information. That is why no variation represents an example of evolution. No matter how much you crossbreed different breeds of dogs or horses, the results will still be dogs or horses. No new species will ever appear, as the agricultural scientist Dr. Don Batten summarizes:
... variation within a kind, such as through breeding or adaptation, is not evolution. All the biological genetic "evidence" for evolution is actually variation within a kind, not evolution at all. 183
However, scientific findings completely refute this claim. Many branches of science, such as paleontology, genetics and biochemistry, clearly show that not one single living species, let alone biodiversity, can be accounted for in terms of evolution..
In dealing with the invalidity of Darwinism's claims regarding speciation, let us first provide some general information about biological classification.
Classification of Living Creatures
Try writing down the names of all the animals, plants and micro-organisms you have ever encountered or heard of. No matter how long your list, it will represent only a very small fraction of the living species on Earth. Suppose that others from different countries have also prepared such a list. A more comprehensive list may emerge when these are all combined together. But this time, the list will become confused because of some of the same life forms will be referred to by different names, or different ones by the same name.
To overcome these difficulties, biologists give every plant and animal a scientific name, such that all organisms are described according to a binomial classification system. The first word is generally Latin—a practice left over from the days when Latin was an international language. For example, the dogs you see every day are Latin-named Canis familiaris, and cats are Felis catus.
Scientific nomenclature makes it possible to distinguish between species whose common names are often confused. For instance, the bird known as the robin in Europe is different from the bird known by that name in America. Confusion has been prevented by giving these separate species different names. The European robin is properly known as Erithacus rubecula, and its American counterpart as Turdus migratorius.162
In addition to naming species both living and extinct, scientists also describe and classify them according to specific criteria. The science of naming, describing and classifying living things is known as taxonomy or systematics. For example, animals are classified according to such criteria as their body structures and systems, internal organs, developmental stages, behavior and genetic information. Information about extinct species is obtained from fossils.
The classification system in question consists of hierarchical categories, or seven main groups. In descending order of size, these are:
Every living thing occupies its own particular position in all of the above seven groups. (There are also sub-categories within this hierarchical classification.) For example, the tree we commonly refer to as the white pine is a member of the plant kingdom and of the phylum Tracheophyta. It is also a member of the class Pteropsida, the order Coniferales, the family Pinaceae, the genus Pinus and the species strobus.
The scientific name of the wolf, a carnivorous canine, is Canis lupus; it is also a member of the phylum of mammals, the order Carnivora, the family Canidae and the genus Canis.163
In this classification system, the largest unit is kingdom. Until the 20th century, most biologists divided the world of living things in two—either plants or animals. In the last century, however, progress in the fields of microbiology and biochemistry in particular revealed that this simple division didn't go far enough. Today, a five-kingdom classification is generally agreed upon. In addition to plants and animals, the fungi, protista and monera are also regarded as separate kingdoms.
The animal kingdom, containing more than 1 million described species, is the largest, made up of multi-celled organisms that digest food, generally move, and have complex systems and organs. The plant kingdom contains more than 260,000 species, which produce their own food by means of the exceedingly complex process of photosynthesis, and also meet the nutritional needs of other organisms. Fungi, which are not capable of photosynthesis and have no digestive systems such as those in animals, are a kingdom with some 100,000 members.
The Protista kingdom consists mainly of single-celled organisms with a cell nucleus, such as algae and diatoms. Some 100,000 members of this kingdom are known to exist. Monera, on the other hand, consists of single-celled organisms that lack any nucleus, such as bacteria: Some 10,000 species of this kingdom have been described.
In biological classification, the kingdoms are followed by phyla, whose number varies according to different biologists. Still, the classification of 32 animal phyla and 10 plant phyla is generally accepted. In the animal kingdom, all species in a particular phylum possess a similar body structure, although phyla are very different from one another. For example, the phylum that includes sponges is completely different from the phylum Chordata, which includes vertebrates—fish, mammals, birds and reptiles. The insects we are familiar with are of the phylum Arthropoda, the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, which also includes marine crustaceans.
Living things belonging to a particular class share many more common features than do members of a phylum. For example, birds, reptiles and mammals are all members of the phylum Chordata, but belong to different classes. Birds, which have wings and also feathers—a structure not to be found in any other animal group—are members of the class Aves. Reptiles, members of the class Reptilia, lay eggs, are cold-blooded and covered in scales. Mammals are members of the class Mammalia, and give birth to and suckle their young, are warm- blooded and generally covered in fur.
In biological classification, a class is divided into orders. The mammals with which we are familiar consist of 23 different classes. Those that feed on insects, like the mole and hedgehog, are members of the class Insectovira. Rodents such as mice and squirrels belong to the class Rodentia, and meat-eaters such as dogs and wolves belong to the class Carnivora.
The next rank is the family. Mammals, for instance, comprise more than 100 families. Though cats and dogs both belong to the class Carnivora, cats are members of the family Felidae, and dogs of the family Canidae.
Genera consist of living groups that bear a close resemblance to one another, but which are not generally able to crossbreed—dogs and foxes, for example, and different genera within the family Canidae. Dogs belong to the genus Canis, and foxes to the genus Vulpes.
The species is the basic unit in biological classification. A species may be described as a community of individuals that are able to reproduce among one another and share the same functional characteristics. Breeds or varieties within the same species typically have different scientific names. For example, the red fox is known as Vulpes vulpes, the desert fox as Vulpes zerda, and the long-eared fox as Vulpes macrotis. If there are different groups or varieties within a living species, each of these groups constitutes a different sub-species.
Living things are described and classified by biologists known as taxonomists. They divide into species those populations that mate only among themselves in nature, which give rise to viable offspring, and which resemble one another in terms of structural and functional properties. They determine the classification, such as the specific genus to which a species belongs, and which genera belong to which families.
Classifications by different taxonomists are basically similar, but still exhibit important differences. For example, five species may be grouped under one, two or three different genera. That is why scientists often differ and disagree regarding the classification of different living things.164
The Founders of Taxonomy
The classifications outlined above are vital in terms of scientific research and study. Some, however, imagine that classification is a part of the theory of evolution. The reason for this is evolutionist propaganda. Modern taxonomists are largely evolutionist biologists; and as a result, taxonomy and evolution are generally referred to in the same breath. Yet this is a grave error.
The foundations of taxonomy were laid before Darwin's theory of evolution was put forward. In addition, the founders of taxonomy were scientists who believed in God and creation.
The British scientist and theologian John Ray (1627-1705) led the way in classifying living things, in the sense this is understood today.165 Ray grouped plants, birds, mammals, fish and insects according to systematic criteria. Rather than classifying plants based on a single feature, he considered their structures in their entirety. He wrote several books on the subject, thus laying the foundations of the science of taxonomy. In his writings, he also set out his observations of the magnificent order in nature.166 Ray, who is remembered for his enormous contributions to science, stated that the systems and characteristics in living things were all marvels of creation, and expressed his views in these terms:
There is for a free man no occupation more worthy and delightful than to contemplate the beauteous works of nature and honour the infinite wisdom and goodness of God.167
The scientist regarded as the father of the modern biological classification system is the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778),168 who first used the two-part scientific nomenclature system and developed a classification based on hierarchical categories. He gave a great many species their scientific names (such as Homo sapiens for human beings).169 The year 1753, the year when the 10th edition of his book Systema Naturae was published, is regarded as the start of the science of taxonomy.170
Linnaeus named and classified plant and animal specimens collected by himself and his students from all over the world, paying close attention to their structural similarities and differences. The system he developed is still in use, largely unaltered, today. So successful is his system in the description and classification of living things that he has become one of the most eminent figures in the history of science.
Linnaeus believed that God created living things and that species do not change. He summed up his research in these words: "There are as many species as the Infinite Being produced diverse forms in the beginning."171 According to him, classification revealed the Divine Order of God's creation.172 The interrelated hierarchy in living things was a sign of creation in God's flawless order and harmony, and not of evolution, as Darwin later believed. In his books, Linnaeus frequently stated that the magnificent plan he observed in the natural world could have come into being only through God's creation.
Classification Is Proof of Creation
But the division of living things into hierarchical groups means something entirely different to evolutionists, who claim that biological classification is evidence for evolution. The Turkish biologist Ali Demirsoy, for example, makes this claim:
The characteristic of living things is that they are arranged according to a specific hierarchy in such a way as to form species, genera, families, orders, classes and kingdoms. Hierarchical arrangement is one of the most evident proofs of evolution. Were plants and animals not related among themselves, this hierarchical order could not have come about, and many groups would have developed in forms dissimilar to one another.173
Darwin and his followers attempted to use the work of such scientists as Ray and Linnaeus by distorting it. They portrayed similar structures among living things, and the classifications based on them, as evidence that living things were descended from a common ancestor.
In fact, however, a scientific explanation for similar structures among living things had been made before Darwinism came to dominate the scientific world. Natural scientists such as Carl Linnaeus and John Ray regarded the matter of similar characteristics among living things as an example of common creation. In other words, organs were similar not because they had evolved from a common ancestor, but because they had been created individually to serve a specific purpose. Modern scientific discoveries have confirmed this.174
Clearly, the classification of living things cannot be used as evidence in favor of evolution. For example, in his book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, Professor Michael Denton examined this claim in the light of the scientific data and concluded that the hierarchical structure was no proof of evolution.175
The fact is that in clutching at classifications, evolutionists are making a serious mistake. Products of artificial design—such as automobiles, furniture and paintings can also be classified hierarchically amongst themselves. Yet this does not prove that they came into being spontaneously or by chance; on the contrary, it demonstrates that they were designed and produced by conscious human beings, according to a specific blueprint. Living things on Earth can be classified too, but that's because they exist by being created by Omniscient and Almighty God, and not through unconscious coincidences as maintained by evolution.
Following this general outline of biological classification, let us now examine Darwinism's main difficultyin the light of modern scientific findings.
The Meaning of Variations
When Darwin's book The Origin of Species was published in 1859, he imagined that his theory could account for life's extraordinary diversity. He had observed that there were natural variations within a living species. Visiting animal fairs in England, for instance, he noted that breeds of cattle were very different, and that farmers could produce new breeds by selective crossbreeding. With this as his starting point, he then pursued the following logic: "Since living things can exhibit variety within themselves, then all of life can have descended from a single common ancestor of the course of long periods of time."
The fact is, however, that his hypothesis did not actually account for the origin of species at all. As the science of genetics advanced, it realized that variation within a species could never lead to a new species emerging. What Darwin imagined to be evolution was in fact variation.
Variation is a genetic phenomenon that causes individuals or groups within a species to exhibit different characteristics. For example, all the humans on Earth possess basically the same genetic information. But thanks to the variation potential that genetic information permits, some have dark skin, others red hair or blond, and some are tall in stature.
Variation can be very high even within a single species: Not only is there variation amongst humans in the genera and species of the bacteria that invade or live within us, but the organisms themselves often are highly diverse.176 For example, in dogs, one of the living species most familiar to us, there are a large number of variations: bulldogs, Italian poodles, German shepherds, Turkish Kangals, Dalmatians, Chows, Shih Tzus and many more such breeds. There are also many varieties in the fruit and vegetables we eat every day, with different tastes, nutritional contents, shelf lives and other characteristics.
But such variation represents no evidence for evolution. It represents only the emergence of different combinations of already existing genetic information, and does not endow resulting offspring with any new genetic information. The crucial question for the theory of evolution is of how brand-new information that can create—and define—a brand-new species could come into being.
Variation always takes place within the boundaries of genetic information, which bounds are referred to as the gene pool. All the characteristics in a living species' gene pool may emerge at various times, in various forms, thanks to variation. As a result, for example, breeds of reptiles may emerge with a longer tail or slightly shorter legs than others of their species, but the genetic information for a long tail or short legs already exists in the reptiles' gene pool. Yet variation cannot transform reptiles into birds by fitting them out with wings, adding feathers to them and altering their metabolisms. That's because such a transformation requires an increase in genetic information, but in variation, there is no question of such a thing occurring.
Darwin was unaware of all this when he launched his theory. At the time, it was believed that variations had no bounds. In 1844 he wrote: "That a limit to variation does exist in nature is assumed by most authors, though I am unable to discover a single fact on which this belief is grounded."177 In The Origin of Species he attempted to portray various examples of what were actually variation as the greatest evidence for his theory. In Darwin's view, for instance, crossbreeding different variations of cattle in order to produce cows with a greater milk output would eventually turn cattle into an entirely new species. The best expression of Darwin's idea of "unbounded change" is in these words from The Origin of Species:
I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale.178
The reason why Darwin was so confident in his examples lay in the primitive level of scientific understanding in his day. As the result of similar experiments on living things, however, 20th century science revealed the principle known as genetic homeostasis 179. This principle revealed that all attempts at crossbreeding were insufficient to change a living species and that between species, there were insuperable genetic barriers. In other words, the livestock breeders who mated different variations of cattle could not have produced another new species, as Darwin claimed. This was absolutely impossible.
Norman Macbeth, author of the book Darwin Retried, has this to say:
The heart of the problem is whether living things do indeed vary to an unlimited extent... The species look stable. We have all heard of disappointed breeders who carried their work to a certain point only to see the animals or plants revert to where they had started. 180
Luther Burbank, one of the most eminent authorities in the field of livestock raising, wrote that "there are limits to the development possible, and these limits follow a law."181
The biologist Edward Deevey describes how variation always takes place within specific genetic bounds:
Remarkable things have been done by cross-breeding... but wheat is still wheat, and not, for instance, grapefruit. We can no more grow wings on pigs than hens can make cylindrical eggs.
A more contemporary example is the average increase in male height that has occurred the past century. Through better health care (and perhaps also some sexual selection, as some women prefer taller men as mates), males have reached a record adult height during the last century, but the increase is rapidly disappearing, indicating that we have reached our limit. 182
In short, variations give rise to certain changes that always remain within the genetic limits of a species, but never impart to that species any new genetic information. That is why no variation represents an example of evolution. No matter how much you crossbreed different breeds of dogs or horses, the results will still be dogs or horses. No new species will ever appear, as the agricultural scientist Dr. Don Batten summarizes:
... variation within a kind, such as through breeding or adaptation, is not evolution. All the biological genetic "evidence" for evolution is actually variation within a kind, not evolution at all. 183
No comments:
Post a Comment