(September 20, 2011 at 2:09 pm)Statler Waldorf Wrote: Actually he did, he said that animals that failed to act within their instincts died out, implying that those that did survive acted within their instincts and were thus preserved by natural selection. So in his scenario natural selection didn’t produce instincts (despite his claim to the contrary on the last page) it only preserved them.
No, he didn't. Unlike goddidit theories, we do not assume evolution is infallible. In cases where evolution didn't work out or work out fast enough for rapidly changing environmental conditions, animals die out. He did not contradict himself. You took meaning from his post that was not even implied.
Let's put it this way, if you said god created man and animals, but some of his creations didn't work out, so he let some die off and others continue to evolve, that would go against everything about your belief in god. However, if we say the same thing about the way things really are -- constantly evolving -- it contradicts nothing. A being's instincts can evolve poorly. Take for example the fight or flight instinct in humans. It came in handy in the past, but it can backfire and become anxiety. Human evolution hasn't had time to evolve beyond caveman instinct. I'm not entirely sure it will go away, either, because it is still helpful.
