The Evolution of Ape and Man - Coursework Example

April, The Evolution of Ape and Man Evolution, in its basic sense, is an explanation to understand how life began on earth or how each creature on earth came to life and survived. During the time of Christopher Columbus, people thought that the world was flat but his journey to the New World proved otherwise. Presenting the evolution theory was also met with dissent. Before the evolution theory, it was the general consensus that humans were created by a deity or an omnipotent being and neither had it known links with or among animals. However, after Charles Darwin published his books on the ‘Origin of Species’ and ‘Descent of Man’ published in 1859 and 1871, respectively, startling as it may, Darwin’s advocacy made a 360 degrees turnabout in the course of what scientific thinking and Modern Biology ought to be. Capturing its context, ‘Evolution’ is “a descent with modifications to include transformation of species through time, including both changes that occur within species, as well as the origin of new species” (Losos, J. “What is Evolution?”). The ‘Origin of Species’ offered an explanation on the Natural Selection featuring the ‘survival of the fittest’ which claimed to be the engine and cornerstone of Modern Biology. Natural Selection in the context of Darwin’s framework is described to be the “evolutionary change that comes through the production of variation in each generation and differential survival of individuals with different combinations of these variable characters” (Montgomery, S. “Charles Darwin and Evolution…). In the light of the above, the “distinguished Russian-born biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973) commented that “nothing seems to make sense in biology except in the light of evolution” (Zhao, “Darwin’s Impact on Biology” and Losos, “What is Evolution?”). Over the centuries, archaeologists, paleontologists, evolutionary biologists, naturalists and other scientists painstakingly searched for answers to prove Darwin’s the theory of evolution to including the claim that apes were a direct lineage of man. The movie ‘Jurassic Park’ is just a good example of conveying the message to the public that contemporary archaeologists, paleontologists and genetic engineers, among others to this day are still hungry for concrete evidences related to man’s evolution. Cognizant of the above, this academic paper is purposely written to present some discussions on the issue of whether or not the statement: “man’s ancestral lineage directly originated from the apes” was fully substantiated. It also wants to present some of the significant impacts of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in the light of its multiple controversies and some answers as to what lies in the future of Modern Biology and other evolutionary related sciences? The Link between Ape and Man’s Evolution 1.0 The Great Debate between Evolution and Religion Charles Darwin existed at the time when the scientific point of view over evolution was centered on God, a supreme being who created the universe together with all the life forms therein. But after Darwin publicized his “Origin of Species and “Descendant of Man”, it started a Theistic evolution. Also, a great debate between science and religion has surfaced particularly on the issue whether or not humans descended directly from apes. This orthodox concept “Creationism was proposed to be a science but was rejected due to its flaws. It was retained for the traditional religious accounts of how life on earth began. Advocates of creationism were considered anti-evolutionists since they asserted for the presence of an omnipotent Deity or God who was the source of all creation”(Wear, K “Creationism, Evolutionism, Intelligent Design...”) Catholic or the religious defended what was written in the first chapter of Genesis of the Holy Bible as the answer to evolution. Creationism was rejected as a theory because it cannot be subjected to empirical testing. The second introduced concept was Intellectual Design (ID). This was proposed to be a future field of science according to Prof. K. Wear, 2000. It was introduced to bridge the gap between evolutionary biology and creationism. Intelligent design (ID) asserted that everything came from divine intervention while at the same time embracing scientific observation” (Wear, K. Creationism, Evolution, Intelligent Design…”). However, Fitzhugh, J. Kirk, PhD remarked that “it has been a rule in the scientific domain that before any theory or hypothesis becomes acknowledged and accredited by the scientific community it has to undergo empirical testing after which must have results or observable outcomes” (Kirk, “Evolutionary Biology vs Intelligent Design.). That being said, any hypothesis or theory that cannot be subjected to testing does not have the worthiness to belong to the scientific realm nor should it be called a science. ID failed this criterion. The same holds for Creationism? Therefore, “if there is the absence of any plausible valid scientific explanation for a hypothesis or theory, the proposed science or paradigm must not be accepted in the scientific realm” (Maddox “Charles Darwin and Evolution…”). 2.0 The Truth about Apes’ and Man’s Evolutions Revealed Pre-Darwinian theorists are presented to show that it was not only Charles Darwin who started the bandwagon to study evolution. Actually, there were several naturalists who tried to isolate their studies about earth’s creation. Prior to the Darwin’s Origin of Species, there were other famous evolutionary theorists like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, John Ray, Carolus Linnaeus, James Ussher, Erasmus Darwin and George Cuvier among others who contributed to the stimulate the further development of other fields of science like Zoology, Biology, Taxonomy, etc. Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution states that “all living species today have evolved from the same starting point - a common ancestor. For instance, DNA is found common in majority of organisms. Thus, these organisms may have evolved from a common ancestor that relies on DNA as one of its identification factor”. Moreover, Darwin’s theory does not limit itself to one theory but instead set off several challenging prime theories that opened doors to the improvement of several fields of science particularly in the medical field. 3.0 The Link between Apes and Man The earth’s existence is estimated to be about 3 to 4 billion years old. With that, Evolution was said to have many myths, stories, etc. but from Charles Darwin’s perspective, evolution was described as ” the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient ancestors”. Evolution is responsible for both the remarkable similarities and the diversity of life forms”… (“An Introduction to Evolution”, n.d.). Evolution was popularly illustrated in a chart for children and adults in academic books with descending images, say from amoeba or protozoa slowing developing into life forms to the biped stage of primates. This is what they call “phylogenetic tree or phylogeny which shows the lines of evolutionary descent in various species, organisms, or genes from a common ancestor”1. In short, the above phylogenetic tree was a reference where one can see what common features did humans and primates have before? Bipedalism is one. It becomes one of the most vital defining characteristics which differentiate humans from other animals. How this feature fully developed and became a permanent feature in humans is a hot main topic of debate among modern evolutionary biologists. The roots of bipedalism would quickly connect primates’ evolution with man’s evolution. However, there seems to be either no concrete evidence found even in fossil records or from previous research to prove its direct link. In fact, it proved to be contradictory against the evolutionary time period when fossils on tools were found. As presented, research shows that “upright walking emerged 6 -7 million years ago however, the use of some tools did not show up in the archaeological records for millions of years after its development” (Wayman 2013). Therefore, “it once again becomes necessary at this point to find out whether or not Darwin provided any real evidence for the thesis that he just proposed. Did Darwin present any conclusive proof for the evolution of humans from apes having taken place, whether in the present or out of the distant past?”(“Understanding Evolution”) Cited from the following passages from his book The Descent of Man, Darwin wrote: “But we must not fall into the error of supposing that the early progenitors of the whole simian stock, including man, was identical with, or even closely resembling, any existing ape or monkey. (2)” quoted from J. Foard’s Darwin’s Papers 2004. “ With respect to the absence of fossil remains serving to connect man with his ape-like progenitors, no one will lay much stress on this fact…those regions which are the most likely to afford remains connecting man with some extinct apelike creature, have not as yet been searched by geologists. (3)” quoted from J. Foard’s Darwin’s Papers 2004. The above statements reveal that Darwin did not find concrete proof for any type of a ‘missing link’ as previously claimed by some scientists that would substantiate Darwin’s theory claiming that descent of man comes from apes or primates. Secondly, the above passages are also clear “proof of Darwin’s admittance that he had no hard data to support that humans descended from anthropoid primates” (Foard, “Darwin Papers”). According to J. Foard, “these were all entirely just speculations!” (Foard ). So now, where does this leave us? 4.0 The Misconstrued Darwin’s Statement In his book, “The Descent of Man” published in 1871, Darwin did not automatically write that man originated from the primates. Rather, in Darwin’s account, humans evolved from pre-existing forms that may have a common ancestor such as apes. In one of the given classes or taxonomic categories, man was considered under primates or mammals. This means there is a distinction made between “evolving from apes” and “sharing a common ancestor with apes. This makes the difference. In fact, the true essence of Evolution is not simply about the origin of the species developing into new or another species. The truth of the matter is that the essence of evolution is “CHANGE”. Species change over time_ not just once but several times all over. In order to get a clear picture of this is by way of an example like if an early organism gets isolated into two populations where each evolves from one population into human and the other a monkey. Outright there is something wrong to conclude that humans evolved from chimps or any other extant primate. This is rubbish and not what Darwin wrote in his book. “Presently, it is recognized that the relationship between modern humans to the present anthropoid apes (e.g., chimpanzees) is through common ancestors rather than through direct descent. Fossil recording appear to be slow. These ancestors may have yet to be identified. And thus, ape-hominid discrepancy may have occurred six to ten million years ago”(“Missing Link”). 5.0 The Legacy and Impact of Charles Darwin’s Theories Darwin’s works hit what they call “positivist science”. His ideas radiated beyond origins and had a lot to benefit society in many fields. Among others, his theory made significant impacts that paved the way to open and develop new horizons in many fields of science. Acquisition of new ideas and “information directed toward the ubiquitous role of evolutionary forces in understanding human development and reproduction, longevity and health, as well as in the classically understood evolution of drug resistance and virulence in pathogens and drug response in humans” (“Darwin’s Impact”) . Darwin’s great works also made significant breakthroughs in the field of medicine along the areas of disease prevention, productive fitness, better kin selection management, species management and biotechnology. Medical evolution carrying his recognition of genetic structures in populations also gave way to new population management, genetic engineering, microbiology, among others. Lastly, “Darwin’s big ideas also created a paradigm shift that obviously marked the superiority of this scientific method as a means of understanding the world around us. Examples of a paradigm shift in science include the replacement of the earth-centered Ptolemaic system by the sun-centered Copernican system; and the replacement of Newtonian physics by relativity and quantum physics” (Berra, Tim. “The Legacy…) 6.0 The Future Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection is one of the excellent accredited theories in the entire historical account of science, backed up by proofs from a wide range of scientific disciplines, including archaeology, modern biology, geology, paleontology, developmental biology and genetics, among others. The swift emergence of medical and other breakthroughs in various science evolutions as a dynamic new specialty demonstrates the undiminished power that Darwin’s theory. His theories has to generate novel research programs not only today but in the near future, a trend that is most likely to surface repeatedly as the life sciences continue to mature and broaden their scope. Conclusion In retrospect, we could see Darwin’s profound insight and influence provided a new perspective of ape and man’s evolution. His was a scientific theory that delved into beyond the origins of species. From above discussions, there is now a clear notion that the evolution connection between ape and man is not a missing link nor is it a direct link as earlier popularized. Darwin’s evolution was specific in his words that the relationship of modern humans to the present anthropoid primates (e.g., chimpanzees) is through common ancestors rather than through direct descent. As to how significant were Darwin’s Theory to mankind, it is clear that there is no other identified naturalist in the history of mankind who created an impact of great magnitude as did Charles Darwin. Actually, his explanation of evolution through natural selection became the basis of all of biology and its applied sub-disciplines like medicine, agriculture and biotechnology. The caused paradigm shift from orthodox view of creation to the new view of evolution has moved intellectual endeavors from a non-testable belief to a rational understanding that flows from the scientific method. This in turn has allowed a vast array of advances in knowledge. Finally, we can conclude that as new species or organisms arise and continue to multiply and show modifications, Darwin’s theory will continue to influence today’s world. In fact, even if Darwin was heavily reliant on observation and his effective deductive thinking compared to what contemporary scientists use now such as sophisticated labs equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technologies, it is amazing that Darwin’s theory still remains at the heart of scientific thinking about origins and the development of life, the past, today and in the future. Works Cited Notes 1. See meaning of ‘Phylogenetic tree” or Phylogeny reference in What is a phylogenic tree?. (2014). In ask.com. online. Retrieved from http://www.ask.com/question/what- is-a-phylogenic-tree as related in Evolution theory. Works Cited Berra, Tim M. “The Legacy of Charles Darwin”. actionbioscience.org. Web. 08 April 2014. “Darwin’s Impact”. Greater Boston Darwin Bicentennial. bu.edu/darwin2009. Bu.edu 2009. Web. 08 April 2014. Fitzhugh, J. Kirk. “Evolutionary Biology versus Intelligent: Resolving the Issue”. nhm.org. n.d. PDF File. Web. 02 Apr 2014. Foard, James. “ The Darwin Papers, Vol. 1. Chapter 9: Variations on an Ape Theme Part I.” darwinpapers.com. 1996. Web. 08 April 2014 Losos, Jonathan. “What is Evolution?” press.princeton.edu. 2013. PDF file. Web. 03 Apr 2014. Maddox, Andrew. “Charles Darwin and Evolution 1809 – 2009”. arwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk.: , 2009. Web. 08 April 2014. “Mechanisms: the processes of evolution”. Understanding Evolution. n.d. University of California Museum of Paleontology. Web. 08 April 2014. Retrieved from < http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_14 >. “Missing-Link” Britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2012. Web.08 April. 2014. Montgomery, Stephen. “Charles Darwin and Evolution 1809 - 2009: Natural Selection” arwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk., 2009. Web 02 Apr 2014. What is a phylogenic tree. (2014). In ask.com. online. Retrieved from http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-a-phylogenic-tree Wyhe, John ven.ed. “The Complete Work of Charles Darwin-Online”. darwin-online. org.uk/majorworks.html. 2002. Web. 08 April 2014. Read More