Quote:
Originally posted by BBtB
Of course a common question for evolution is if we evolved from apes why are there still apes? I mean the whole point of it is we are the better suited more evolved apes. Shouldn't the weaker ones have been "naturally selected" out? I mean if the missing link between apes and humans can be "evolved out" of the system why can apes not be?
|
This is a common query, based on a basic misunderstanding of natural selection. All the current apes (chimps, gorillas, humans etc) share a common genetic ancestry. Each species has been subject to natural selection to best fit their environment. As that environment changes over time, so natural selection, inevitably, alters those populations. The process of natural selection cannot be denied if one accepts that
a. within a population, a range of characterisitics exists.
b. the membership of that population changes over time.
The phrase 'more evolved' also implies a direction to evolution which does not exist. All that matters is survival in an environment, and by any measure - number, variety, mass, longevity - single cell organisms win, hands down. Perhaps they are in God's image?
Of course, the origin of the Universe isn't really Evolution vs. Creationism, it's Astrophysics vs. Creationism.