Creationism and Darwinism

Susan ZianniEnglish 9 Honors15 October 2007

Inherit the Wind

Creationism DefinedBeliefs11

• 3,12Deity/deities created:▫ Humanity▫ Life▫ Earth▫ Universe

• Original forms3

• 3Deity = God of Abraham▫ Judaism▫ Christianity▫ Islam

• Rejection of evolution3

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1

Creationist Beliefs• God – absolute creator 18

• Out of nothing• Act of free will• Immanent (constantly involved)• Intervenes as necessary• w/o whose attention:

▫ Creation disappears/ceases

General Belief:12

• Organisms (may) adapt• No change• Completely different/

distinct organisms

•Many branches3

•11Most prevalent (U.S.A.)

• Christian Creationism

•3,11Others include:• Hindu• Islamic• Jewish• Native American

Creationism:Denominations

Sections of Christian

Creationism11

Comparison of Creationist Beliefs

Humanity Biological species Earth Universe

Young Earth creationism

Directly created by God.

Directly created by God. Macroevolution does not

occur.

< 10,000 years old. Reshaped by global flood.

< 10,000 years old.

Gap creationism

Directly created by God.

Directly created by God. Macroevolution does not

occur.

Scientifically accepted age. Reshaped by global

flood.

Scientifically accepted age.

Progressive creationism

Directly created by God (based

on primate anatomy).

Direct creation + evolution. No single common

ancestor.

Scientifically accepted age. No global flood.

Scientifically accepted age.

Intelligent design

N/A

Divine intervention at some point in the past, as

evidenced by irreducible complexity

Some adherents claim the existence of Earth is the

result of divine intervention

Some adherents believe in the

teleological argument, that the existence of Universe is the result of divine intervention

Theistic evolution

Evolution from primates.

Evolution from single common ancestor.

Scientifically accepted age. No global flood.

Scientifically accepted age.

3

Fundamentalist Protestant Christian• Most common (U.S.A.)12

• 18Several terms:▫ Fundamentalists▫ Biblical literalists▫ Scientific Creationists

• 12,18Bible (Genesis):▫ Literally true▫ History of universe▫ History of life

(+humans)• 12God created Everything

▫ 7 Days Most: 24 hour days Some: metaphoric

• Oppose evolution18

Darwinism DefinedCharles Darwin:9Collection of theoriesMainstream scientists accept5

Ernst Mayr: 9One Argument-Evolution -Common descent

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6

-Multiplication of species-Gradualism-Natural selection

Mayr’s Theories 1 – 31. 9Evolution - World:

▫ Not constant▫ Not recent▫ Steadily changing

2. Common descent▫ Organisms – same

ancestor9

▫ 4Simplistic ancestors [natural evolution] Complex creatures

3. Multiplication of species▫ Causes: organic diversity9

▫ Split into daughter species9

▫ 4Accumulate mutations▫ Entirely different organism

20

Mayr’s Theory 4 - Gradualism• Species change gradually5

• Populations, not individuals9,16

• Change in genotypes, not phenotypes2

• Change not necessarily better• Paquin & Adams experiment:Yeast cultures2

▫ Strains superior to previous▫ Earlier strains outcompete

later ones

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7

8

Mayr’s Theory 5 – Natural Selection• “survival of the fittest”5

• 10Organisms:▫ Produce offspring

Not all survive▫ Compete: limited

resources• 4Random genetic mutations

▫ Beneficial ones Aid survival Preserved Accumulate over time

• Domestic Breeding• Mutated Species:

▫ Advantaged survive▫ reproduce▫ Disadvantaged die out

4

Creationism vs. Darwinism

• U.S.A.: ▫ Creationist tendencies3, 11

• Europe:▫ Evolution widely taught3

▫ Opposite of U.S.A.▫ Creationism discouraged13

▫ Protests vs. suspending evolution instruction3

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Works Cited1. bacterium Pseudomonas. APSnet Education Center – Illustrated

Glossary of Plant Pathology. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.apsnet.org/education/IllustratedGlossary/PhotosA-D/bacterium.htm>.

2. Colby, Chris. “Introduction to Evolutionary Biology.” TalkOrigins Archive.org. 7 Jan. 1996. TalkOrigins Archive. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html >.

3. “Creationism.” Wikipedia.com. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Oct. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism>.

4. “Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.” AllAboutScience.org. AllAboutScience.org. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://darwins-theory-of-evolution.com/>.

5. E., Jeremy. “Evolutionary Terms Defined.” Creation vs. Evolution II. ThinkQuest. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://library.thinkquest.org/29178/evoterms.htm>.

Works Cited6. Ernst Mayr. Royal Society of New Zealand – 2005

Academy Yearbook. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.rsnz.org/directory/yearbooks/2005/mayr.php>.

7. Greenaway, Frank. Yeast culture at time 2. DK Images. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Science/Biology/Unassigned/Unassigned-06.html>.

8. Greenaway, Frank. Yeast culture in petri dish. DK Images. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Plants/Fungi-Monera-Protista/Mushrooms-and-other-Fungi/Yeasts/Yeasts-2.html>.

9. Hanes, Joel. “What is Darwinism?” TalkOrigins Archive.org. TalkOrigins Archive. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://talkorigins.org/faqs/darwinism.html>.

10. Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution: Brief Summary.” Spaceandmotion.com. 3 Oct. 2007 <

http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Charles-Darwin-Theory-Evolution.htm>.

Works Cited11. Isaak, Mark. “What is Creationism?” TalkOrigins Archive.org. 12

Dec. 2002. TalkOrigins Archive. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/wic.html>.

12. L., Ross. “Theory of Creation.” Creation vs. Evolution II. ThinkQuest. 3 Oct. 2007 <http://library.thinkquest.org/29178/crtheory.htm>.

13. Lengagne, Guy. “Doc. 11297: The dangers of creationism in education.” Assembly.coe.int. 8 June 2007. Parlimentary Assembly/Assemblée parlementaire. 13 Oct. 2007 <http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?Link=/documents/workingdocs/doc07/edoc11297.htm>.

14. “LiveScience Image Gallery.” LiveScience.com. 2005. Imaginova Corp. 13 Oct. 2007 <http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=060810_evo_rank_02.jpg&cap=A+chart+showing+public+acceptance+of+evolution+in+34+countries.+The+United+States+ranked+near+the+bottom%2C+beat+only+by+Turkey.+Credit%3A+Science>.

15. Moore, Glenda. “Abraham’s Sacrifice.” Gene Barry Fan Page. May 2007. Glenda Moore. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/gb- abraham.htm>.

Works Cited16. Moran, Laurence. “What is Evolution?” TalkOrigins

Archive.org. 22 Jan. 1993. TalkOrigins Archive. 3 Oct. 2007. <http://talkorigins.org/faqs/evolution-definition.html>.

17. Portrait of Charles Darwin. 1881. Charles Darwin Has a Posse. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/evolk12/posse/ch azhasaposse.htm>.

18. Ruse, Michael. “Creationism.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 30 Aug. 2003. Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University. 12 Oct. 2007 <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/creationism/>

19. Yeast cells in liquid culture. 1990. Microbiological Reviews. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.kent.ac.uk/ims/personal/msr/prion/biology/biolog y6/biology6.htm>.

20. Zimmer, Carl. The Tree of Life. 2002. Classification of Living Organisms. 14 Oct. 2007 <http://www.greenspirit.org.uk/resources/FiveKingdoms.htm>.

Side note: All images without citations came from ClipArt

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