Re: CHAT: Survival of the fittest (was: Religion etc.)

On Fri, 5 May 2000, John Cowan wrote:

> mechanism of evolution.  Its implication is that organisms evolve toward better
> engineering design (balancing the constraints of the environment, available
The implication is demonstrably false, given that it implicitly denies
observable stochastic effects.  Likewise, even using the word "better" is
teleological, therefore incompatible with modern biology.  Finally,
organisms CANNOT evolve.  SPECIES evolve.

What CAN happen is that species can amass traits that produce greater net
reproductive efficiency FOR A LOCAL CONDITION.  This complex of traits is
never "better" in any unqualified sense and is only a purely local
compromise, not merely "constrained" by local conditions but DEFINED thereby.