Wesley Elseberry responded to my question whether there is any evidence for
modern competition between species of the kind that can be a significant
factor in evolution--evolution that is usually called "Darwinian
evolution," although Wesley says that _that_ kind of evolution was not
postulated by Darwin. In his response, Wesley also said:
WE<If either Augros or Eldredge claims that competition *never* happens
between species, they are wrong. If they claim that competition *rarely*
happens, the point is arguable. If they claim that natural selection does
not exist because of negative evidence, they are wrong. If they claim that
Darwin's presentation of natural selection has been invalidated, they are
wrong. Darwin stated that natural selection would only operate
intermittently, at long intervals.>
I apologize if I did not make myself clear. I hold no brief for Augros or
Eldredge. I did think that mentioning Eldredge's name (because of his
well-known work in evolutionary theory) would attract attention. But in no
way do I accept the idea that a person's idea should be accepted because he
or she is well known. Nor should a person's idea be rejected or thought to
be unimportant if the idea is not expressed fully.
The ONLY thing that interests me in this thread is whether there is modern
evidence for "natural selection" of the kind ( I take it, competition
between species) that can account for evolution--usually called Darwinian
evolution, but we can drop the adjective for the sake of the argument.
The reason I put the question to the reflector group is that there are
probably experts here who can answer the question. Of course, it would be
nice to see documentation along with a simple "yes" or "no."
Russ
Russell Maatman
e-mail: rmaat@mtcnet.net
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Sioux Center, IA 51250