RE: [asa] Of motes and beams

I am not sure I understand. When a human encounters a new mathematical problem and is able to develop a solution to it with the prior information he/she has about mathematics, can we say that the individual evolved or just that the human brain has the ability to "figure out" new situations with already existing elements?

 
Moorad

________________________________

From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu on behalf of Iain Strachan
Sent: Mon 7/17/2006 7:34 PM
To: Vernon Jenkins
Cc: George Murphy; Don Nield; asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: [asa] Of motes and beams

On 7/17/06, Vernon Jenkins <vernon.jenkins@virgin.net> wrote:

        (1) Test the fruits of that philosophy or doctrine before making it your own. (Mt.7:15-20).

        On this basis - as I'm sure you must agree - evolution has an exceptionally poor track record.
        

Vernon,

I hope you will reconsider this statement when you next get an infection of some kind and your body's immune system fights back and defeats the infection. What happens is evolution on a rapid timescale in your own body - through a process of rapid random mutation and natural selection, your immune system finds the correct antibody to bond on to the invading pathogen, to mark it out for destruction by other components of the immune system. We are indeed, "fearfully and wonderfully made", and in the case of the immune system, God has used evolutionary processes to defend your body against disease. Next time you get a cold and don't die as a result, perhaps you would like to reconsider your statement "exceptionally poor track record", because an evolutionary process saved you. It's not a philosophy, it's a physical process. I know there are some ( e.g. Dawkins and Dennett) who want to make it a philosophy, but just about everyone else on the list would disagree that it is.

Iain

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Received on Mon Jul 17 23:18:47 2006