Darwin’s ideas began with Alfred Russell Wallace, co-discoverer of natural selection, who disagreed with some aspects of Charles Darwin’s arguments but ultimately realized that most of them were wrong. It has been proven and challenged many times. American botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey published a paper in 1894 pondering whether the mainstream neo-Darwinist formulation of the theory of evolution needed to be extended (it was not). In the 1980s, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould pursued a similar tack.
Evolutionary biologist Kevin Lara also questions what he calls traditional Darwinian thinking (see “The surprising ways species control their evolutionary destiny”). Some say this is a straw man argument, as it challenges old-fashioned ideas about evolutionary biology, but modern ideas are changing the way we think about developmental biology, cultural evolution, symbiotics, etc. It’s broad enough to encompass all the new aspects you’re learning. Different species coexist closely.
Over the years, the theory of evolution by natural selection has itself evolved, absorbing new discoveries about genes, DNA, population genetics, and epigenetics that did not exist in Darwin’s time. As we report on page 11, identifying evolutionary drivers is essential to understanding how species adapt to climate change, for example, ahead of an avian influenza pandemic. Whether we need to add to the rulebook already at the disposal of evolutionary biologists is debatable. There is a danger that a “God of the Gaps” argument will creep in, where the obvious shortcomings of evolution are exploited by those who point to unscientific explanations.
Obvious shortcomings create a danger that the “god of the gaps” theory creeps in
All theories need to be challenged, and evaluating modern evolutionary biology highlights many aspects of life that may be less appreciated. Darwin’s explanation has survived more than 160 years because it is broadly correct and robust enough to absorb new discoveries. So while the impact of Lara’s approach is not yet clear, Lara’s scrutiny of neglected aspects of life should be welcomed.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
