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Author | Topic: Can you disprove this secular argument against evolution? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6
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This is essentially an old argument, which may be refuted by pointing out that the origin of the first replicators is outside the scope of evolutionary theory.
The answer, therefore, cannot directly refute evolutionary theory, and there is no reason to assume that it would be a problem for that theory. I would also add that the assumption that the first replicators were proteins is very likely false and thus any argument centred around the difficulty of finding functional proteins is missing the mark Edited by PaulK, : No reason given.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
quote: So you are asking how we got from the first replicators to protein-based life ? That is still not much of an argument. If evolution was basically false we should find that in the areas we know well, not in attempting to reconstruct the path between largely unknown start and end points.
quote: And the vast majority of those would be MUCH more difficult to reach than the range of configurations corresponding to human hearts. Evolution does not try random combinations at the level of individual organs at all. Nor does DNA explicitly code for the locations of individual nucleotides. What you are likely to see is minor variations in the proteins - which will often be found in ALL the molecules of that protein or changes in size and shape produced by regulatory changes.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
This does not seem to be a coherent argument.
Premise 2 seems irrelevant - the idea that purely random configurations of atoms are involved at the level of organs is so obviously false that it need not be considered. Premise 4 is less obviously bad, but mutations do not produce completely random sequences either. However I note that the article cited in support of it also argues that life may well have tried every possible functional protein, which seems to directly contradict your argument on this point. Premise 5 is in need of support - assertions that an article behind a paywall supports it seem obviously inadequate. Premise 6 is contradicted by one of your citations with regard to proteins, and is just silly with regard to organs and anything larger.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
quote: My objection stands. The cells are not arranged randomly nor does DNA directly specify the location of cells. Since we only have to deal with the combinations reasonably accessible to evolution - and a lot of them will not be - your argument fails even before you take into account the "sharpshooter fallacy" aspect of it.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
quote: You could say that, but if you think it directly codes locations of individual cells you would be dead wrong.
quote: Then it's a good job that nobody thinks that ears evolved from heart valves.
quote: And I don't. What I do say is that mutations are not the same as completely randomising the arrangement of cells - nowhere near.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
Arrogantly declaring yourself the victor when you obviously don't know what you are talking about is hardly a winning move.
The simple point is that the mechanisms of evolution are not a random search over every possible configuration of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur atoms. Certain configurations are vastly more likely than others, and any argument that assumes otherwise is fatally flawed. For comparison, consider a game of chess. While there are many possible configurations of chessmen possible on the board (do not forget to allow for capture and "queening") the rules of the game limit the number possible. Computer chess programs restrict the space further by rejecting options that seem bad - and even relatively simple programs can play the game. Your observations are therefore largely irrelevant to actual evolution. Even protein evolution - where your argument is least weak - relies far more on modification of existing proteins than on creating new sequences.
quote: When do you intend to start doing that yourself ?
quote: That's taxonomy, not the theory of evolution. The theory of evolution deals with the mechanisms by which life is modified over time. And your argument ignores those mechanisms in favour of something that creates random assortments of atoms. Talk about ignoring physiochemical (and biological) reality ! You may certainly choose to run away, proclaiming an imaginary victory rather than face the fact that your argument is hopelessly flawed and obviously ignores observed reality. But that is hardly productive - although rather typical of creationists, it must be said.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6
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quote: If that is how you view critique it is no wonder that your argument has problems.
quote: It certainly does not logically follow. You need the form of your argument to be correct - and that includes stating all the premises - before we need to get into questioning your facts (although your claim about the proportion of protein sequences with "bio-functionality" is still in need of support)
quote: No. Linnaean taxonomy does not even assume that life did change over time.
quote: You have it backwards. Evolution is not derived from first principles (a task that would be impossible - even the purely gravitational three-body problem has no analytical solution). Instead it is derived from higher-level empirical evidence, and we work back towards explaining it in lower-level terms.
quote: That is not a valid reason. Evolution does not work by randomly - or exhaustively - sampling all arrangements of atoms. The idea is absurd.
quote: But that is only possibly true in the absence of evolution. Evolution is not just a human concept - it describes a process that occurs in nature (and has been used in human research, too). Any argument which ignores evolution is only valid so far as it describes entities which do not evolve - or in other words your argument is only possibly applicable to the origin of life, and not to its subsequent development.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
In other words you ignore valid criticisms of your argument because other people show errors in your premises.
Trying to brow-beat opponents into submission is not a workable strategy here. I will repeat the basic flaw in your argument again. The number of possible arrangements of atoms is irrelevant because evolution does not work by random sampling.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6
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So basically your argument boils down to the assumption that there must be places in the history of life where evolution would have had to cross an unbridgeable gap in "fitness space". Unfortunately for you, despite all your rhetoric that is just an assumption - and one that is not mentioned in your original argument.
So, at this stage, you have implicitly admitted the failure of your original argument and the replacement is hardly compelling. An assumption is hardly enough to overturn conclusions with a solid base in evidence. So, you may consider yourself refuted.
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6
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quote: 10^43 random rearrangements wouldn't be enough. Evolution doesn't work by random rearrangements. Now do you actually have an argument that takes account of the actual processes involved or are you going to go on wasting your time repeating the same error again and again ?
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
quote: If you are making claims about what evolution can and cannot do the fact that it is not equivalent to pure random guessing is very relevant.
quote: Which I've just done. Your argument is based on a ridiculous false assumption which even you have backed away from. Until you fix that problem your argument is refuted.
quote: If you can't be bothered to correct the major error in your argument why should I put any more effort into refuting it ?
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PaulK Member Posts: 17987 Joined: Member Rating: 5.6 |
quote: Since you claimed to have a logical proof it is quite definitely up to you to show that either the assumption is true or to explain why the total number of possible arrangements of atoms is at all relevant. In fact since evolution, considered as a search, relies on iteratively generating variations and selecting from them, as you have admitted, it is clear that the assumption is false and that you know that it is false.
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