Darwin and Human Origins: Meager Evidence and Sweeping Claims

According to Darwin, the origin of the human species was essentially the same as that of any other species. Human existence is the result of evolution from a common ancestor with other animals – the most recent of which are monkeys – and that the distinctive characteristics of man are the result of, but not limited to, natural selection acting on small variations. But Darwin’s evidence for this theory during his lifetime was too weak for sweeping claims about human nature; all Darwin knew was that fossil evidence about human evolution was still missing, that there was no direct evidence of natural selection, and that the origin of the changes was unknown. Despite the lack of evidence, the Darwinian view of human origin is directly preserved in drawings showing a monkey walking on a leash – the joints of the fingers – evolving through a series of intermediate forms into an upright human. Such drawings later appeared in an unlimited number of textbooks, museum galleries, magazine articles, and even cartoons. In the 20th century, the great icon seemed to have the evidence it had originally lacked, as it found many fossil discoveries that appeared to be transitional links in the chain of evolution leading to modern humans, and experiments on dotted moths and other organisms seem to support the missing evidence of natural selection, and geneticists believe that they possess the raw material for the process of evolution, namely DNA mutations. As we have seen, Cuttwell’s experiment with dotted moths, and the oscillating natural selection of Darwin’s sparrows, does not produce long-term evolution. Although beneficial DNA mutations occur at the biochemical level, the shape mutations that are widely reported in four-winged fruit flies produce organisms that are disabled, not a raw material for evolution. Finally, as we will see in this chapter, the interpretation of the fossil evidence of human evolution is strongly influenced by personal convictions and prejudices. Experts in paleoanthropology acknowledge that their field is the most personal and controversial of all the sciences involved in biology, and it is difficult to find a firm basis for Darwinists’ broad claims about human nature. - Dr. Jonathan Wells, Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?!, pp. 252-254. Video clip attached to the post: https://www.diyaa-alandalus.com/api/media/videos/braheen-org-958648240980914-d6ea5579.mp4 — Source: Published on Facebook's "Braheen Center" page https://www.facebook.com/braheen.org/videos/958648240980914