Misconceptions about evolution

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roblox_porn_addict · 2022-05-23T03:46:41+00:00

Some especially important parts:

MISCONCEPTION: Evolution leads to immoral behavior.

CORRECTION: Evolution does not make ethical statements about right and wrong. Some people misinterpret the fact that evolution has shaped animal behavior (including human behavior) as supporting the idea that whatever behaviors are “natural” are the “right” ones. This is not the case. It is up to us, as societies and individuals, to decide what constitutes ethical and moral behavior.

Evolutionary biology answers descriptive questions(what is/was). It does not answer prescriptive questions(what ought to be).

MISCONCEPTION: Natural selection acts for the good of the species.

CORRECTION: When we hear about altruism in nature (e.g., dolphins spending energy to support a sick individual, or a meerkat calling to warn others of an approaching predator, even though this puts the alarm sounder at extra risk), it’s tempting to think that those behaviors arose through natural selection that favors the survival of the species — that natural selection promotes behaviors that are good for the species as a whole, even if they are risky or detrimental for individuals in the population. However, this impression is incorrect. Natural selection has no foresight or intentions. In general, natural selection simply selects among individuals in a population, favoring traits that enable individuals to survive and reproduce, yielding more copies of those individuals’ genes in the next generation. Theoretically, in fact, a trait that is advantageous to the individual (e.g., being an efficient predator) could become more and more frequent and wind up driving the whole population to extinction (e.g., if the efficient predation actually wiped out the entire prey population, leaving the predators without a food source).

I often see natural selection and evolutionary biology being framed in the terms of "the good of the species". In discussions about human evolutionary biology phrases like "furthering the human species", or "survival of our species", or some other similar phrase expressing the same idea, frequently pop up.

It's not even clear what people mean by "the good of the species". Happiness? Population size? Probably the latter so I'll assume that for the purposes of the argument.

The process of natural selection acts on individuals, and selects for traits that enhance the individual's reproductive success(how successful they are at passing on their genes to future generations). If increased reproductive success of an individual does not come at the expense of other members of its species then these things may hand go hand-in-hand. But as demonstrated by their overhunting example, traits that improve an individual's reproductive success can sometimes come at the expense of other members of the same species, and hurt the "success" of the species as a whole(in terms of population size). Another example might be violent competition between members of the same species, over food, territory, mates, etc.

MISCONCEPTION: If students are taught that they are animals, they will behave like animals.

CORRECTION: Part of evolutionary theory includes the idea that all organisms on Earth are related. The human lineage is a small twig on the branch of the tree of life that constitutes all animals. This means that, in a biological sense, humans are animals. We share anatomical, biochemical, and behavioral traits with other animals. For example, we humans care for our young, form cooperative groups, and communicate with one another, as do many other animals. And of course, each animal lineage also has behavioral traits that are unique to that lineage. In this sense, humans act like humans, slugs act like slugs, and squirrels act like squirrels. It is unlikely that children, upon learning that they are related to all other animals, will start to behave like jellyfish or raccoons.

Humans ARE animals and we are not as different from other animals as many people would like to believe.

Title	Misconceptions about evolution
Author	roblox_porn_addict
Upvotes	1
Comments	2
Date	May 23, 2022 3:18 AM UTC (4 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/uvr09x/misconceptions_about_evolution/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/misconceptions-about-evolution.1118895 https://theredarchive.com/post/1118895

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