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Biological Evolution — Principles & Questions
Ideas about evolution occur
in three areas of thinking: science (IN THIS PAGE), philosophy (DESIGN
IN SCIENCE), and theology (METHODS
OF CREATION). In this science-page the views
will span a wide range, from strong arguments for evolution through moderate
questions to strong criticism.
Principles
of Neo-Darwinian Evolution
Robert Schneider offers evolution
for Christians to summarize the basic scientific principles of evolution (36 k)
because — as
he explains in the introduction (8 k) — evolution (the science)
is not evolutionism (atheistic
philosophy) and "most Christians know little about
the scientific details of evolution. ... This is true both of Christians [like
Schneider] who
accept evolution and support teaching it in the public schools... and those
who reject
it and oppose its teaching."Evolution 101 is a good way to learn the principles of evolution, to understand the modern synthesis of ideas in current theories of neo-Darwinian evolution. It has 53 pages plus optional sidetrips, with a Table of Contents you can use as a sitemap. It's part of a larger website developed by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education. (78 k of total text, plus graphics that often include text)
Another useful introduction, evolution and the fossil record, is from the American Geological Institute and the Paleontological Society. (12 pages with 43 k of text, plus graphics) / Also, PBS has a vast website — constructed as an extension of their 8-hour "Evolution" series in 2001 — including a 9-page FAQ (38 k) and a wide variety of multimedia resources you can explore from their homepage or sitemap.
Definitions of Evolution — and Principles for its Logical Evaluation examines principles for a logical
comparison of theories, and explains why instead of
thinking about vague "evolution" we
should define it more precisely and then evaluate four types of evolution — micro-E (and minor macro-E),
old-earth fossil E, full common descent, and a natural development of
all biocomplexity — that are related closely but are not identical in terms of evidence-and-logic; by Craig Rusbult (15
k +11k)
Questions about
Neo-Darwinian Evolution
Most scientists accept the
neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, although they sometimes debate the details. But
some scientists, especially proponents of Intelligent Design, think
neo-Darwinism cannot explain the development of all
the complex
systems we observe.To learn the basics of intelligent design — what it is and isn't, and why some people think it is credible (in terms of science, theology, philosophy, education,...) while others don't agree — you can explore DESIGN IN SCIENCE. The rest of this page looks at scientific questions about design and evolution: general questions irreducible complexity information analysis fossil record & rates of evolution common descent human evolution.
I.O.U.s — Soon, maybe by mid-October 2010, this
page will have more content
(overviews & links), and one part (about Human
Evolution) is fairly
complete now.
General Questions
• Mark Hartwig — in an FAQ
about ID for the Access Research Network — answers questions about
scientific evidence for biological design in pages 2 through 10, from "How
can you tell if something is designed?" through "What about the evidence
from homology?" (28 k total in 9 pages, plus references)
• Talk
Origins has many "totally pro-evolution" arguments, as do the websites
above in Principles of Evolution.
This is just a rough beginning, and later there will be
more
here. Until then, you can explore Evolution
and Creation which is a comprehensive links-page (assembled for courses
at California State University at Fullerton, taught by James Hofmann, Craig
Nelson, Bruce Weber, and Robert Woodworth) that covers a wide range of
perspectives and topics: theology, philosophy, and science; principles of
evolution (natural selection, mutation & genetics,
anatomy & physiology & biochemistry, developmental biology, fossils,
and biogeography); origin of life; intelligent design; education
and legalities; age of the earth & Noah's Flood; creationism
(old earth & young
earth) and theistic evolution; human evolution, sociobiology; and
more.
Irreducible Complexity (the
claims of Michael Behe)
This concept is examined in a links-page for IRREDUCIBLE COMPLEXITY - EVOLUTION AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN.
The next three sections (re: information analysis, fossil record, common descent) will have resources later, maybe by mid-October 2010. Until then you can find lots of information (especially about fossils & descent) in the earlier section for Principles of Evolution.
Information Analysis
Does the "information" in biological organisms indicate design? This
question is distantly related to young-earth claims about thermodynamics (Second
Law, entropy,...) and evolution (astronomical, chemical, and biological) because both types of argument are about complexity, but
basically they are different and they should be evaluated separately. {re: the I.O.U. - Probably there won't be much more in this subsection until November 2010 or later.}
The Fossil Record and Rates
of Evolution
These sections (fossils & rates)
are related, with overlaps, and genetic evidence (clocks,...) may also be included
here.
Common Descent
There will be introductory overviews and arguments
for-and-against, and probably a separate page devoted to this idea. Currently there is a page about COMMON DESCENT (Common Ancestry) IN HUMAN EVOLUTION.
Human Evolution
The page about HUMAN
EVOLUTION — SCIENCE & THEOLOGY outlines basic principles and
features ideas from ASA scientists (Deb Haarsma, Loren Haarsma, David Wilcox,
John Bloom, Davis Young, Dick Fischer,
Glenn Morton,
Peter Rust, Carol Hill, Graeme Finlay, Roy Clouser,...) plus others who include
YECs and secular scientists, to provide a full range of views.
| A DISCLAIMER: In this page you'll find links to resource-pages expressing a wide range of views, which don't necessarily represent the views of the American Scientific Affiliation. Therefore, linking to a page does not imply an endorsement by ASA. We encourage you to use your own critical thinking to evaluate everything you read. |
This website for Whole-Person Education has TWO KINDS OF LINKS:
an ITALICIZED LINK keeps you inside a page, moving you to
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This page, written by Craig Rusbult (editor of ASA Science
Ed Website), is
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/education/origins/bioe.htm
and was revised
August 16, 2010
( all links were checked-and-fixed on
July 3, 2006 )
EVALUATIONS OF
EVOLUTIONS:
Astronomical Geological Chemical Biological