Introduction
The origin of modern species has been the subject of study by many scientists, and it involves contrasting worldviews of creationism and evolution. Most people are adept with the primary arguments that Charles Darwin proposed in his famous book, On the Origin of Species, especially the proposition that the present life forms have evolved from primitive ones that first lived in the ocean and later on land. Since the first publication of Darwin’s book, critics have advanced other bodies of knowledge that support the creationist perspective of the original species, which suggests that life was created in its perfect form and has remained unchanged through time. Jerry Coyne, one of the enthusiasts of Darwin’s work, argues in favor of evolution in his Why Evolution is True. This paper reflects on the major themes contained in the nine chapters of Coyne’s work. As the reflection indicates, the author provides one of the most compelling persuasions to accept the theory of evolution as a valid discourse of explaining the origin of species, especially because his arguments fit the modern scientific and sociological worldviews of materialism and naturalism.
Reflection
Chapter 1
The chapter presents two contradicting ideologies about how modern species could have emerged, which are the theological and philosophical perspectives of creationism and the scientific theory of the origin of life that the author alternatively and interchangeably calls Darwinism. While reading the chapter I noted the variations in the two ideas, especially in their primary premises about the nature of life forms. Precisely, this section of the book introduced me to the idea that life is not static and that much as the present species resemble their ancestors, they vary significantly. In the perspectives of theological and philosophical standpoints, as I learned, one may refute the central premise of evolution through the argument that everything in the world emerged out of conscious design by a deity (Coyne, p. 4). I found that the author, apart from being an evolutionist, avoided bias through presenting arguments for both before attempting to convince his audience about what evolution concerns and what it does not. As the chapter argues, evolution is the only way that adequately explains the emergence of new species around the world through the idea of natural selection, which has four major principles that are gradualism, speciation, common ancestry, and natural selection.
Chapter 2
In developing a better comprehension of the idea of evolution, this chapter introduced me to one of the primary arguments on why I should believe that evolution is true, which is fossil evidence. I found out that the author strived to create a picture of the idea that fossil records are all over, which should drive everyone from leaning on the creationist standpoint. For example, the chapter taught that paleontology provides the backbone to understanding the role of fossils in proving that evolution is true; the creationist idea that fossils are remains of animals and plants from Noah’s flood is highly faulted (Coyne, p. 30). Furthermore, I understood the challenges that come with relying on fossils as the primary evidence of evolution, which is the issue of missing links that would link one generation of species to the next. I learned that missing links emerge from the finding that soft parts of plants and animals do not sediment, some sediments could be destroyed by land-forming processes, and that they could be buried too deep into the earth’s crust to allow a seamless exposure to archeologists for study. Furthermore, the chapter taught that ancestral forms of present species lived in water before they adapted themselves to live on land, which is a major finding in my development of the understanding of evolution.
Chapter 3
The chapter advanced the second major evidence in the propagation of the theory of Darwinism, which constitutes comparative anatomy. I learned that some organisms have features that appear to be functionless, or which stopped performing the functions for which they evolve and that such structures are called vestigial organs. While I had learned about this idea at some point in my journey towards understanding evolution, I had never understood that genes affect the development of vestigial organs as the chapter suggested (Coyne, p. 80). Most importantly, the chapter helped me in understanding further deficiencies of the celestial engineering model that creationist theorists hold dearly; some organisms have structural imperfections, which cause a number of their organs useless, at least relative to the physical environments that they inhabit. The exemplified wings of flightless birds, the coccyx and appendix in humans, and the eyes of blind moles helped me in understanding this evidence for evolution.
Chapter 4
The geography of life is another evidence of evolution, which I learned from the book. The author suggested that the geography of life could be preferred to be called biogeography, which explains that only an evolutionary approach can be used to describe why geographically different, but climatically similar regions of the world have related species, which are structurally differentiated. The section of the book deciphers the evolution theory objecting to the constructs of the multiple creations model that creationists adopt in explaining the same phenomenon (Coyne, p. 102). I learned the concepts of analogous and homologous structures in this chapter, and I now understand that the two evolve from convergent and divergent evolution respectively. As the author described, the two types of structures are related to the fact that while different regions along the same latitudes could be having climatic similarities, they vary in their landforms and the natural environment, which forces organisms to adapt to such living conditions.
Chapter 5
This chapter was the most important to me because it taught the origins of evolution. Precisely, the author satisfied my eagerness to understand how generations of species transfer adaptive features and modifications in their morphologies to their offspring. As the author calls it, “the engine of evolution lies in genetic modifications,” (Coyne, p. 170). I now know that such modifications arise from genetic reorganizations that are inspired by two factors; natural selection and gene mutations. In striving to conquer their environments, I learned, species must adapt to the pressures of their habitats, such as the need to move swiftly, hide from predators, and reproduce at rates that could be frequent enough to enhance the continuation of their generations. The theory of natural selection, which is a tenet of Darwinism, suggests that only organisms that effectively adapt to environmental pressures survive, reach maturity, and reproduce; hence, passing desirable traits to their next generations. In addition, such changes in the genetic structure of organisms could be inspired by mutations, which spontaneously alter the genes of species. Altogether, I learned that natural selection and mutations result in speciation, which is the driver of mutation.
Chapter 6
Coyne underscored the contributions of sexual dimorphisms to the spectacle of evolution in this chapter. First, he critiqued the creationist approach to explaining the occurrence of specific features in members of only one sex among species, such as colorations, tails, sizes, and vocal attributes. I had never thought, for example, why only the male peacock has the tail color and size it does while the female is less colorful. Through exemplifying the peacock, Coyne contributed to my understanding of the reasons behind the phenomenon by introducing and elaborating the term sexual dimorphism, which he also referred to as sexual selection. Now, I know that in underscoring the significance of sex in evolution, sexual dimorphisms enhance the chances of having offspring among species (Coyne, p. 201). Organisms must always reproduce and pass desirable traits to their future generations. Therefore, next time I listen to a frog croaking in a particular sound or observe a beetle that is more colorful and conspicuously larger than its partner, I will articulate the sexual dimorphism element of Darwinism as explained throughout the chapter.
Chapter 7
While I was wondering about the lack of concern for the origin of species so far through the book, I encountered this chapter, which explained the aspect of speciation in detail. I wanted to satisfy my inquisitive sense of the many observable differences between species in the wake of a realization that evolution results in the development of new life forms from common ancestry. As the chapter explained, the variations in organisms are the origin of speciation. Having learned a great deal about evolution this far, I understood that basing my perception of speciation on the observable differences alone would not help in constructing the idea of common ancestry, which is the role of evolution. However, I realized that the author was on-point in his construction of evidence for evolution in noting that species can easily be distinguished despite having similarities. I developed a strong feeling that after all, creationists could be faulted in their refusal of the ideas of common ancestry because none of them, as the chapter noted, has doubted the credibility of Carl von Linnaeus’s scientific classification, which is commonly called the binomial nomenclature. An analysis of the system of naming organisms reveals a common identity for many organisms at the kingdom level with growing differences down the classification ladder, which could be one of the most compelling reasons why I should believe in evolution.
Chapter 8
The author must connect the concepts described throughout his book to humans, which is why chapter 8 is dedicated to constructing human ancestry through archeological studies. First, the book looks at the evidence pointing to Africa as the origin of man, first by presenting a history of fossil evidence that dated and compared the ages of early man fossils from the continent with the rest of the world and latter striving to connect the observed features to what evolution identifies as the close relatives of man; apes, especially the chimpanzee (Coyne, p. 330). As the chapter focused deeper on the topic, I found myself enjoying the subject matter because I found the evidence presented in the chapter more compelling. The only issue that I experienced while reading the chapter was the need to chronologically master the long list of human fossils that were identified by the author. Nonetheless, the author was very informative in his description of the human fossil record as one of the pieces of evidence of evolution. Anyone reading this chapter is bound to experience contradictions to opposing viewpoints, especially that we never evolved.
Chapter 9
Based on experience, the author expresses his regrets that he may still have failed to convince people to believe the truthfulness of evolution. He seeks to change his audience’s perception that evolution and Darwinism is no longer a theory since he feels that he has given sufficient evidence, some of which can be seen in action. Coyne does not find any other reason why some people should doubt his work and that of his predecessors and successors, especially because unlike the creationist theorists, he has given sufficient facts that prove Darwin’s major principles of evolution. To the author, many people forget that Darwinism suggests that evolution occurs gradually, which is why they have not experienced a significant change like species during their time. The issue, as the author suggests, is a matter of understanding the naturalistic perspectives of ethics such as naturalism and materialism, which is science against religion.
Overall Reflection
The book provides a detailed account of the theological, philosophical, sociological, and scientific worldviews of the origin of species. For example, I found that a significant proportion of the work concerned the contradiction between philosophy, theology, and science. The author seems to have underscored the fact that philosophical and theological theorists provide the most spirited resistance against the acceptance of evolution as a valid approach to explaining the emergence of creatures. In fundamental philosophy, which is also supported by theology, cosmology marvels at the perfectness of life and the universe with the ideology that everything contained in the cosmos were designed with uttermost perception. Because theologians and philosophers attribute perfection to the supernatural, most people have been driven into believing the convention that life originated from a deity and that nothing has changed concerning the nature of life since its very emergence. The fact that theology and philosophy are comparatively older fields than science informs the popularity of these worldviews in deciphering the origin of life and species throughout the history of mankind and the world. I feel, therefore, that while Coyne’s work attempts to teach the concept of evolution, it also strives to dispel the negative impact of philosophical and theological theories on the validity of Darwinism as an approach to explaining the spectacle of life.
I may not have widely studied evolution, but I am confident I have been thoroughly introduced to its concepts, especially the evidence for the phenomenon, which allows me to critique Darwinism using my scientific and sociological understandings of the topic. First, I feel that Coyne does marvelously in constructing a short, yet very precise and adequate explanation of evolution. I feel that the explanations given in the nine chapters of the book meet the expectations of the curios modern readers as they did to the author’s contemporaries, which is the call for unflawed evidence. The author spends considerable amounts of time reviewing evidence that appear to support the philosophical and theological explanations of the origin of species and each time, he does not find compelling evidence, primarily because these two theoretical frameworks are not scientifically testable. A question then arises concerning how possible it has been that so many people, including myself at the start, have consistently defied calls to give evolution a thorough thought as one of the discourses to understanding the origin of life.
The author points at multiple scientific pieces of evidence of evolution, including archelogy, biochemistry, genetics, and geology. The nine chapters satisfactory explain to me why I may have never realized the gradual change in species because of my biased perspective of the same. Now, using my scientific knowledge, I understand that resistance to poisons and drugs, artificial selection of plant and animal species for breeding, and the extinction of some species around the world are very compelling pieces of evidence of evolution. Consequently, I find that Coyne is apt and vivid in his articulation of concepts in theory and practice—he moves from a theorized perspective of evolution through the lens of Darwinism to the applications of natural selection in practice while exemplifying his explanations using museums. Consequently, I feel that Coyne’s approach is plausible even though I still think that future studies should continue efforts to find the missing links, which hamper the effectiveness of fossil records as one of the most important types of evidence of the subject matter of this reflection paper.
Coyne’s work further fits my sociological perspective of life, especially when analyzed from the naturalistic view of ethics. Precisely, after reading the entire book, I find myself no longer crossing roads in understanding the possible contributions of evolution and creationism to the origin of life. As opposed to naturalistic explanations that fault any arguments against creationism after considering that they unethically doubt the power of the supernatural, materialistic ideas fit the descriptions given in the book; the only way to understanding contradicting topics, such as evolution, is to use compelling evidence, which Coyne does.
Overall, the book has changed my perspective of the origin of species. Before reading the book and meditating on its major thematic concerns I must have been biased in my understanding of the role that Darwinism plays in giving meaning to the topic. While I accepted the idea that the theory may have played a critical role in the emergence of some species, I remained adamant about the suggestion that human beings have also been affected by the process since I felt that we were created with the highest sense of perception, which the creationist theorists argue. Valued as human life could be, I now do not fear connecting it to the ape family, amphibians, and other aquatic life forms, something that I dreaded before reading the book. I no longer rely on the argument that modern evolutionists have not found evidence of the evolution of man in recent years, especially because the book has suggested that different species have varying rates of evolution, but I am sure that we keep changing, especially we desire to adapt ourselves better to the environments that we inhabit. I am now more interested in reading other papers and books on evolution, especially from the inspiring works of Charles Darwin such as On the Origin of Species. I would also like to gain deeper insight into alternative explanations of the origin of life, especially from philosophy since I have read about it from a theological standpoint.
Work Cited
Coyne, Jerry A. Why evolution is true. Oxford University Press, 2010.