Evolution and the Natural Sciences
Christian Schwabe, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina
25 Mar 2005
Michael Benton, paraphrases Darwin as follows, "All organisms are related to each other and share a single common ancestor. That single ancestor arose during Precambrian times, perhaps 3,500 million years ago". This concise summary of the axiom of Darwinism cannot be a statement of fact because unique events are not a part of natural science. Scientists, in contrast, nurture the prejudice that evolution is a scientifically comprehensible process with foundations anchored in physics chemistry and thermodynamics. In as much as life appeared within a phenomenally short time after earth accretion, biogenesis was without doubt a very frequent occurrence. This is in line with Dr. William Schopf’s observation that, “…of three thousands microbial fossils found (in ~3,5 billion-year-old rocks), 300 represent different species, some 90 of which have modern look-a-likes.” It was indeed a likely event. As far back as one is able to find evidence for past life, it always occurs in multiple forms in rocks from many places on earth. In fact there is no evidence of any period on earth when only one form of life was observed. Dr. Schwabe will share with the audience his thoughts on evolution as a science and the consequences of that view for models of molecular and species evolution and taxonomy.