Re: [asa] Neo-Darwinism and God's action

You might also add: 3: is "neo-Darwinism" metaphysically random? It
depends on how one defines the term.

On Feb 17, 2008 9:05 PM, Randy Isaac <randyisaac@comcast.net> wrote:

> Thank you all for a lot of helpful comments.
> Let me wrap up and summarize this thread.
>
> 1. Is the biological theory of evolution truly random? While there are
> elements of randomness, boundary conditions and environmental factors
> provide a great deal of direction. Simon Conway Morris has shown a lot of
> evidence of convergence though the underlying factors for it are not yet
> known.
>
> 2. Does the randomness of evolution mean that it is undirected? Yes--from
> a natural viewpoint. This means we know of no physical mechanisms
> that influence genetic variation on the basis of the needs or
> characteristics of any subsequent organism. No--from a divine viewpoint.
> This means that God's purposes in guiding evolution need not involve a
> scientifically detectable influence on genetic variation.
>
> Randy
>

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Received on Mon Feb 18 09:37:15 2008