Re: [asa] Evangelicals, Evolution, and Academics Introduction now available

Trial and error is one thing. It need not be limited to 'evolutionary' thought, though it is obviously part of the cumulative knowledge perspective that evolutionary philosophy assumes. Let's put that aside for now.
   
  You write: "later on a new technology emerges that provides a better method and developers incorporate it."
   
  A simple question: Who (or what) 'makes' that 'technology' to 'emerge' (i.e. who 'emerges' it)? It doesn't happen on its own. Please don't dodge this!
   
  In my view, as soon as you have human making, agency, purpose, meaning, intentionality, goal-directness, etc. you have NO evolution. End of story. If you want to exclude human beings from your answer to the above simple question, then we can move to another category (a non-human one, like your alien example). But for now, what you've said makes no sense if you accept that humans make technology.
   
  Of course mouse traps don't 'evolve' - they are human-made things! Steps, yes, intentional, purposeful (even if sometimes unintelligent) ones...

Bill Hamilton <williamehamiltonjr@yahoo.com> wrote:
        Gregory wrote

As a student of human-made things, including technology, my view is that technological evolution is nonsense! Humans (consciously) make technology, therefore technology doesn't 'evolve.'

Most technology is developed by trial and error. One method of accomplishing a function is devised, then later on a new technology emerges that provides a better method and developers incorporate it. And if a being who had no acquaintance with humans could look at the history of our technology over many years, it might get the impression that evolution had taken place. A couple examples might help.

First, what about Mike Behe's famous example of irreducible complexity: the mousetrap? Probably the idea of a trap came about when one of our ancestors found an animal crushed by a falling tree. He got the idea that he could suspend a tree branch above an animal trail and drop it on an animal passing under the branch. Then he or another inventive person realized that he could prop the branch up with a stick to which he attached some bait, so he wouldn't have to wait by the trap all day. Eventually someone realized a spring could be substituted for gravity -- initially springy wood, eventually steel.
Through many steps we get the mouse trap and the many other varieties of traps we have today.

Take another example: cars. The Ford Model T had a separate coil for each sspark plug. Probably because the separate set of points each coil had to have were unreliable someone got the idea of using a single set of points and a distributer. That arrangement was used until power electronics that could stand the environment of an engine compartment became available. If you look under the hood of one of today's cars -- GM anyway -- you'll see a separate coil for each spark plug. New technology from another field was adopted when it became available.
   
William E. (Bill) Hamilton, Ph.D.

       
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Received on Wed May 21 18:08:19 2008