- #1
Dissident Dan
- 238
- 2
This thread is not meant to be a debate on evolution. It is meant to express my argumentative ideas to other evolutionists.
Most, if not all, the nontheistic (however theistic the motives may be) anti-evolution arguments that I've seen rely on the idea that changes in the form of members of a species are limited and cannot add up to a great change that results in a different species.
Besides the fact that such a "great change" is really the composition of many smaller changes, there is one very important aspect to this argument that the pro-evolutionist can use to his/her advantate. This anti-evolution argument relies on thinking only about the manifested form of the creatures (phenotype?), not the DNA. Thinking about this yields a great counterargument:
DNA is the basis for the structure and functions of an organism. DNA is composed of 4 basic building blocks (A,G,C,T). Mutations in DNA have been observed in all the order of these building blocks. Since all DNA is of the same form (an ordered combination of AGCT), if mutation is possible at any place in DNA, it should be possible anywhere in the DNA. This means that there is no restriction on the amount of changes in DNA over an indefinite number of generations (other than natural selection considerations), which means that evolution from one species to another is possible.
Most, if not all, the nontheistic (however theistic the motives may be) anti-evolution arguments that I've seen rely on the idea that changes in the form of members of a species are limited and cannot add up to a great change that results in a different species.
Besides the fact that such a "great change" is really the composition of many smaller changes, there is one very important aspect to this argument that the pro-evolutionist can use to his/her advantate. This anti-evolution argument relies on thinking only about the manifested form of the creatures (phenotype?), not the DNA. Thinking about this yields a great counterargument:
DNA is the basis for the structure and functions of an organism. DNA is composed of 4 basic building blocks (A,G,C,T). Mutations in DNA have been observed in all the order of these building blocks. Since all DNA is of the same form (an ordered combination of AGCT), if mutation is possible at any place in DNA, it should be possible anywhere in the DNA. This means that there is no restriction on the amount of changes in DNA over an indefinite number of generations (other than natural selection considerations), which means that evolution from one species to another is possible.