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Tony Snow's evolutionary falsehoods
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Aug 14, 2005 04:22am |
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| Category | General |
| News Date | Sunday, August 14, 2005 10:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | In his August 12 nationally syndicated column, Fox News host Tony Snow equated evolutionary theory to "intelligent design" (commonly referred to as ID), claiming that "[e]volutionary theory, like ID, isn't verifiable or testable. It's pure hypothesis." Specifically, he falsely asserted that no fossil evidence exists in support of evolutionary theory. In fact, there is significant support for evolutionary theory in the fossil record, just one of many pillars of evidence supporting evolutionary theory.
The theory of evolution maintains that increased complexity among organisms (the development of species) occurs through random genetic mutation and that organisms with characteristics best suited to their environment thrive -- the result of a process known as "natural selection." Conversely, "intelligent design" maintains that life on earth is far too complex to have arisen solely as a function of random genetic mutation and was instead designed by a supernatural "intelligence."
In his column, Snow claimed that "evolutionary theorists find themselves at wits' end because the fossil record provides no evidence of any species ever turning into another." In writing this, Snow invoked the idea of a "missing link" -- an organism whose features clearly demonstrate a transition from one species to another. This claim is false, however, and misstates the current understanding of evolutionary theory. Alan D. Gishlick, a post-doctoral scholar at the National Center for Science Education, wrote that " 'missing link' is an outdated term that does not accurately reflect the way biologists and paleontologists think about fossils." |
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