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Forum Post: Survival and Charles Darwin's study of evolution?

Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 2, 2011, 4:23 p.m. EST by DunkinDonut (11)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Do you believe man evolved from ape? If yes, you must believe in his other famous quote, "In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment."

Whether good or bad, you must agree that the weakest can not be helped because they are doomed to fail and die because they can not adapt just as man evolved from ape. You cant change it so why try?

17 Comments

17 Comments


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[-] 5 points by MsStacy (1035) 12 years ago

I agree with the first half of your statement, we did evolve and life struggles to survive. Every life form has the ability to reproduce in greater numbers then the environment can support which sets off this struggle for necessities.

The second statement that I "must agree the weakest can not be helped", doesn't necessarily follow. Believing how we developed and following a strict survival of the fittest way of life are two different things. However we got it, we do have a mind and a will capable of choosing what to do. Man has removed himself from this system and many societies have chosen to care for the weak. We have choice and go against what might be considered the norm in the plant and animal kingdoms.

[-] 3 points by looselyhuman (3117) 12 years ago

And with choice comes moral responsibility.

"Man is condemned to be free" -Sartre

[-] 2 points by MsStacy (1035) 12 years ago

Absolutely!

[-] 0 points by DunkinDonut (11) 12 years ago

I understand. I basically used the Darwin comments to illustrate that if you support one of his theories you would have to accept the other. If you pick one to use then you really need to allow the other side the same benefit.

[-] 3 points by MsStacy (1035) 12 years ago

I don't understand what you are saying. If I accept his theory and say that evolution has somehow given me free will I don't have to allow the weak to perish. I can choose to step outside the evolutionary game at this point.

Believing that survival of the fittest operates in the natural world and that man developed through this process, does not necessitate us following it now for ourselves. We have in fact, chosen not to follow it for ourselves.

[-] 0 points by DunkinDonut (11) 12 years ago

Here is Darwin's quote once again, "In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." He doesnt say you have any say-so. The fittest always wins because the fittest adapts. It doesnt say the weakest adapts so failure in the weakest is in our DNA and not based on government or corporate or OWS capabilitiy to change that. If you believe we have ape genes then the weak can not adapt. Changing the system does not help.

[-] 3 points by MsStacy (1035) 12 years ago

I think you're misunderstanding what it means to adapt in evolutionary terms. No organism, once it's conceived, changes from the form it's genetic code gives it. If it was born with some genetic difference from the species and that difference makes it better able to survive, the difference is passed on to its offspring. The change is from one generation to the next.

Your statement "if you believe we have ape genes then the weak can not adapt" sets up a proposition that is false from the start. It isn't the way evolution works. The environment changes, those with characteristics suited for the new environment survive and pass on that quality. The individuals don't change.

[-] 1 points by JPB950 (2254) 12 years ago

Difficult to do evolution justice in just a couple of sentences. Pretty good job though.

[-] 1 points by 451 (10) from Olivebridge, NY 12 years ago

eugenics, anyone?

[-] 1 points by Idaltu (662) 12 years ago

No I do not believe it and I am an atheist. You will find my reasons at:

http://roccocampanella.blogspot.com/

[-] 1 points by jjuussttmmee (607) 12 years ago

we need the "freaks" to survive and breed so we can evolve further......down.

[-] 0 points by JesseHeffran (3903) 12 years ago

I believe men used to act like apes and then they evolved, but some still like to act like apes.

[-] 0 points by tulcak (698) from Prague, Prague 12 years ago

that's because you are a conservative which is the same as being an un-thinking animal. human beings can actually use their brains and think about ways to avoid being doomed to fail and die. Also, there is that thing called a "soul" or "conscience" or "moral thinking" (as in compassion) that humans have. It makes them actually see the world in terms other than a selfish animal. but, I agree, we shouldn't try to save conservatives. those animals should just be allowed to die. because they really are not human at all.

[-] 0 points by WakeUpWorldTV (58) 12 years ago

Man did not evolve from apes, but we've evolved from a common ancestor as apes.

Do you believe in Gravity? Does a bear sh!t in the woods?

You do not have to believe or worship evolution, but you must accept the evidence. The evidence that we have accumulated over the years, supports Darwin's hypothesis on Evolution, which is why we call it a 'theory'. Theories can never become scientific laws, but theories are widely accepted by scientists and experts in a given field.

Scientific Law - explains what is happening, or what you are observing

Theory - explains why something happens, or how it works.

[-] -1 points by DunkinDonut (11) 12 years ago

Why should the masses care one way or the other? It's nature.

[-] 2 points by notaneoliberal (2269) 12 years ago

Even wolves take care of those in their pack.