February 27, 2007
Kamloops Daily News

Contrary to popular opinion, evolution is going nowhere.

At least that's the opinion of Dr. Steve Jones, a professor
of genetics at University College in London. He says that
human evolution in the developed world has virtually
stopped. "I'm pretty confident that at least for the time
being, and at least in the Western world that's come to a
stop."

Jones is referring to natural selection which depends on
favorable traits being passed down through generations.
Those favorable traits give children a natural advantage
through resistance to disease or by coping with
environmental change. But if all children survive then none
of them has an advantage. When modern medicine creates a
level playing field for survival, genetics is less
important.

Natural selection only works when genetic traits determine
reproduction success. In the developed world that's not so.

Nowadays, 99 per cent of babies reach the age of 21. Not
because they have inherited any advantage from their parents
but because of public health, hygiene and medical
interventions. There can be no natural selection when
virtually all children survive.

It used to be that natural selection determined survival
rates of all humans. One-half of all babies died before the
age of 21. Those who survived passed on some advantage to
their offspring, like resistance to disease.

People with genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis are
surviving longer and having children. Their genes are
becoming more common and that's also part of evolution.

If this idea sounds familiar, it should. Racists have long
argued that inferior humans are breeding and diluting the
superior white race. The likelihood of a white race (or any
others) has no scientific basis but that hasn't stopped
racists. The theory of Eugenics capitalizes on the fear
that our gene pool was being compromised by inferior human
specimens.

Eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the
improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms
of intervention to create healthier, more intelligent
people, save society's resources, and lessen human
suffering.

The concept of evolution leads in unexpected directions.
The originator of evolution, Charles Darwin, could have
never predicted that his ideas would lead to the rise of
Nazis and genocide.

Evolution can mean more than natural selection. It also
means genetic drift and in that sense, evolution is alive
and well. Genetic accidents and mutations are constantly
happening and they will be inherited but not necessarily
with any advantage. Moreover, the effects could be negative
to our survival because genetic drift happens by chance.

Evolution has been one of the powerful ideas of the last
century. The Canadian Gage dictionary lists nine
definitions for evolution. Like any revolutionary idea,
evolution has spun off in different directions.

One of those directions is the popular concept of evolution
as constant progress. As biological evolution shows, that
is not necessarily so. This "ascendant" evolution implies a
kind of superiority of humans; our species is not only
better than ever but we are superior to all other species.

Evolution leads to both divergence and confluence. Religion
and biological evolutionists disagree but there is
remarkable agreement between religion and ascendant
evolution. Both believe in the superiority of mankind over
other species. The bible says that God gave man "dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth (Genesis 1:26)."

Dominion has resulted in an inflated opinion of our own
species at the expense of others. If we are the masters of
the earth, then the earth and its contents are at our
disposal; animals are expendable; the environment exists at
our convenience.

Evolution has spawned Social Darwinism. This has nothing to
do with natural selection, gene drift, domination of man, or
creation. Instead, it applies the principle of the
"survival of the fittest" to include market economics.
Capitalists use it as a validation of the marketplace.

Social Darwinism is also a justification for domination of
the strong over the weak. As such, it becomes a model for
aggressive behaviour between people and societies rather
than cooperation. It validates the assertion that might is
right.

The concept of evolution itself has evolved. It started as
a scientific theory to explain how species adapt to the
stresses of changing environment and disease. The power of
the idea pervades much of our lives.

David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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