Post by oshefeldman on Jul 10, 2016 2:04:10 GMT
Oshé Feldman
Philosophy 5
Professor Lane
9 July 2016
1. Why is the theory of evolution so important in understanding how human beings behave?
The theory of evolution is important in understanding how humans behave because it can give us insight as to why we are more intelligent than other life forms that are similar to us.
Each person is a unique pattern of information called a genome, or, a living book. There are 46 chapters in our particular genome/book and roughly 25,000 pages that are called genes within billions of lines of code. This code is written within molecules called DNA. DNA is comprised of only 4 distinct nucleotides or letters, which can be remembered by the simple acronym CTAG. The C for cytosine; the T for thymine; the A for adenine; and the G for guanine (pg. 1)
While over time humans have evolved to our current state, it is important to note that all life on earth is made up of these same DNA characteristics, but which express themselves as different species. The only thing that is different from a human being and a tiger is the grouping of certain DNA, which has evolved over time to produce such wide variations. Understanding the theory of evolution helps us understand how humans behave because it gives us an understanding of what makes up the matter in humans, and what enables us to be different than other species.
Source: Lane, David, and Andrea Diem. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2016. Print.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer? Be sure to support your answers with references to the required readings and films.
Evolutionary theory has a hard time proving how consciousness arose from unconscious molecules.
Wallace strenuously argued that natural selection could explain how complexity arose from simper forms. However, even though Wallace was a strong advocate of the persuasive power behind natural selection, he felt that human consciousness was of such a high order of organization that natural selection was insufficient to explain it. (Pg. 9)
The fundamental difficulty Wallace saw and attempted to address was his inability to imagine that unconscious processes could over time produce conscious self-awareness. Wallace captures this when opines that “it is impossible for us to believe, that the mere addition of one, two, or a thousand other material elements to form a more complex molecule, could in any way tend to produce a self-conscious existence” (pg. 11)
Source: Lane, David, and Andrea Diem. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2016. Print.
Philosophy 5
Professor Lane
9 July 2016
1. Why is the theory of evolution so important in understanding how human beings behave?
The theory of evolution is important in understanding how humans behave because it can give us insight as to why we are more intelligent than other life forms that are similar to us.
Each person is a unique pattern of information called a genome, or, a living book. There are 46 chapters in our particular genome/book and roughly 25,000 pages that are called genes within billions of lines of code. This code is written within molecules called DNA. DNA is comprised of only 4 distinct nucleotides or letters, which can be remembered by the simple acronym CTAG. The C for cytosine; the T for thymine; the A for adenine; and the G for guanine (pg. 1)
While over time humans have evolved to our current state, it is important to note that all life on earth is made up of these same DNA characteristics, but which express themselves as different species. The only thing that is different from a human being and a tiger is the grouping of certain DNA, which has evolved over time to produce such wide variations. Understanding the theory of evolution helps us understand how humans behave because it gives us an understanding of what makes up the matter in humans, and what enables us to be different than other species.
Source: Lane, David, and Andrea Diem. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2016. Print.
2. Which questions do you think evolutionary theory cannot answer? Be sure to support your answers with references to the required readings and films.
Evolutionary theory has a hard time proving how consciousness arose from unconscious molecules.
Wallace strenuously argued that natural selection could explain how complexity arose from simper forms. However, even though Wallace was a strong advocate of the persuasive power behind natural selection, he felt that human consciousness was of such a high order of organization that natural selection was insufficient to explain it. (Pg. 9)
The fundamental difficulty Wallace saw and attempted to address was his inability to imagine that unconscious processes could over time produce conscious self-awareness. Wallace captures this when opines that “it is impossible for us to believe, that the mere addition of one, two, or a thousand other material elements to form a more complex molecule, could in any way tend to produce a self-conscious existence” (pg. 11)
Source: Lane, David, and Andrea Diem. Walnut: MSAC Philosophy Group, 2016. Print.