Creationism Vs Evolution: Through The Eyes Of Jay Gould :: essays research papers

Creationism vs Evolution Through The Eyes of Jay Gould     It has been over 100 years since English naturalist Charles Darwin firsttold the innovation his revolutionary concept about how livings things develop.Evolution through natural selection and adaptation was the basis of his argumentas it remains to this day a argued typesetters case by many. Across this nation, a"return" to "traditional" values has also brought the return of age old debatedtopics. One issue that truly separates Americans is the issue of installationversus evolution. Since the 19th century, this divisive topic has been debatedin school boards and state capitols across America. In many instances religiousfundamentalists won the day by having banned the schooling or even the mentionof "ungodly" evolutionary thinking in schools. With todays social and politicalclimate, this question is back with greater core than ever. This is why thissubject is more important now than ever. In Jay Goulds book The Pandas Thumb,an overview of and an argument for Charles Darwins evolutionary thinking isconducted with move thoughts and ideas. This essay titled "Natural Selectionand the Human mindset Darwin vs. Wallace" takes a look directly at two hardfought battles between evolutionists and creationists. Using informal selectionand the origins of forgiving intellect as his proponents, Gould argues his opinionin the favor of evolutionary thought.     In this essay titled "Natural Selection and The Human Brain Darwin vs.Wallace," Gould tells about the contest between Darwin and another prominentscientist named Alfred Wallace over two important subjects. These topics, onebeing sexual selection and the other about the origins of the human brain andintellect were debated by men who generally held the same views on evolution.However on these two subjects, Wallace chose to differ as he described it as his"special heresy&quo t (53). The first of these two areas of debate between the twomen was the question of "sexual selection." Darwin theorized that there laidtwo types of sexual selection. stolon a competition between males for access tofemales and second the choice "exercised by females themselves" (51). In this,Darwin attributed racial differences among modern human beings to sexualselection "based upon contrasting criteria of beauty that arose among variouspeoples" (51). Wallace, however, disputed the suggestion of female choice. Hebelieved that animals were highly evolved and beautiful works of art, notallowing the suggestion of male competition to enter his mind. The debate ofsexual selection was but a mere precursor to a much more famous and importantquestion . . . the question of the origins of the human mind.