An Incorrect Appeal to Chance Alone

Many critics of evolutionary theory invoke the notion of chance to advance their own false beliefs and misunderstandings about the natural world and, more importantly, evolutionary theory. Their tactic is simply part of their rhetoric, and not a valid scientific argument. Their appeal to the notion of chance not only confuses the public about evolutionary theory, but also poses a threat to the future advancement of science, as their rhetoric promotes much scientific illiteracy with regard to evolution. This is of particularly true in the case of biological evolution, to which I shall discuss why the appeal is fallacious in the context of biological graduation.

Having read some of the works of Charles Darwin, I am gradually realizing the power of natural selection on the evolution of species. If he had known the level at which we have arrived at in terms of our current understanding and knowledge about evolutionary theory, he would most likely be quite pleasantly surprised, and quite possibly astonished at the level of complexity that which we have arrived at. In fact, I personally believe that no one during his time would have expected the level to which we have developed in scientific understanding and knowledge.

I would like to begin by posting the position that proponents of intelligent design advocate in their well-known rhetoric. Proponents of design theory claim that random variation is the crux of evolutionary theory, and that if proven incorrect, evolutionary theory is thus a theory in crisis. Most proponents seem to argue that random variation is very improbable, and thus from their ‘view’ of current research, chance alone cannot account for the diversity of life present on planet Earth. Yet, it is only the contrary of chance that is true, and this being natural selection.

According to evolutionary theory, what I understand natural selection to be is that nature, in metaphorical terms, ‘selects’ most adaptable organic beings which adapt best to its environmental conditions, and lets these beings perpetuate and reproduce in increasing order. Of course, such increase has its limits, and has periods of destruction, that is the resultant deaths of organic beings due to direct or indirect competition. Nonetheless, nature is metaphorical for it encompasses the presence of all biotic laws and other natural laws, and selection is due, in part, to how these natural law act on surviving organic beings.

If humans were capable of conceiving of all natural laws, and apply that to the environment that which the organic being lives in (i.e. the geology and geography of the lands and water, the types of forestry and organisms present, and the geographical structure of the earth and its structure) then there is no need to invoke the notion of chance to explain the diversity of life that we see today. I shall extend on this further. Imagine a flower that has its seeds fertilized, and imagine that these seeds are spread by wind. I would suppose that some might invoke the notion of chance, proposing the question of probability with regard to where the seed would land is present. Yet, if we were able to consider all the different directions and velocities that the wind has, with respect to the geography of the land, the climate, the state of water and how it affects climate, and if we map out all the obstructions that the seed will encounter, we can calculate precisely where the seed would land. Thus, in the context of our full knowledge about the state of nature with respect to the organic being that we are interested in, there is no need to appeal to the concept of randomness and chance. Charles Darwin’s book “The Origin of Species” explains this position in much, and is a must-read for all students of biology.

I believe I would be right to suppose that if this misunderstanding were to be solved, and that the theory of natural selection were more explicitly defined and thoroughly explained, there would be no threat to the advancement of evolutionary theory. Yet, till date, supporters of intelligent design are still lacking behind in the current development of evolutionary theory, and are still invoking such a fallacious claim about evolutionary theory, that chance is the crux of biological graduation, and thus giving no greater regard for the significance of natural selection.