Active Users:372 Time:05/03/2026 07:00:30 PM
Actually Praziquantel Send a noteboard - 06/08/2011 10:13:51 PM
Animals with traits that are beneficial to the environment can live longer and potentially contribute more to the gene pool.

The latter is all that matters (biological fitness, or how many viable offspring are produced) in natural selection. Lifespan and any greater purpose (benefit to the environment) are not applicable.

As I see your revision it seems you are more careful in describing NS, but does your view on NS escape being a tautology?

Since contributing to the gene pool is the only definition you give, it either has no result (the author calls that a 'lame' definition, since it isolates the proces of NS so that it no longer tries to explain evolution), or the result is a difference in the gene pool (that is: a difference in the frequencies of genes) after one or several generations, and then we have a tautology again.

'Contributing to the gene pool' is a very vague phrase to use. I clarified what I meant to make the definition more specific. Under natural selection the 'purpose' (if you will) of living is to reproduce as much as you can and leave behind as many offspring as possible. Now, you can get into genetic theories and rationalize that, every offspring will have slightly different genomes due to genetic recombination and spontaneous mutations, which can have good, bad, or neutral consequences in terms of future biological fitness (the ability to produce offspring). But it seems reasonable to me that given a diverse gene pool (which is facilitated by increased biological fitness), the population as a whole would be more likely to survive some calamity or other.

I don't understand where the tautology is in that.
Reply to message
Natural selection - 06/08/2011 03:51:26 PM 1233 Views
selection for suitability - 06/08/2011 04:18:51 PM 873 Views
Thanks for your responce - 06/08/2011 04:41:20 PM 992 Views
I can't speak for LadyLorraine and won't try, but here's how I see it: - 06/08/2011 06:49:49 PM 947 Views
Just a question - 06/08/2011 07:18:09 PM 956 Views
Yes it can - 06/08/2011 07:41:59 PM 797 Views
But how? - 06/08/2011 07:52:10 PM 1014 Views
Okay, I think I see what you're saying - 08/08/2011 05:30:43 PM 820 Views
Close - 08/08/2011 05:41:46 PM 1044 Views
Re: Just a question - 06/08/2011 07:49:21 PM 1043 Views
I'm not sure I understand you - 06/08/2011 08:20:44 PM 942 Views
All tautologies are truisms, but not all truisms are tautologies. - 06/08/2011 09:38:12 PM 985 Views
Then it is still a tautology - 06/08/2011 09:45:33 PM 995 Views
You can know it's beneifical to a particular individual, but it's harder to say for populations. - 06/08/2011 10:18:16 PM 1058 Views
Maybe... - 07/08/2011 01:55:54 PM 932 Views
As I understand it - 06/08/2011 06:04:44 PM 874 Views
Better... - 06/08/2011 06:36:38 PM 870 Views
Actually - 06/08/2011 10:13:51 PM 984 Views
Re: Actually - 06/08/2011 10:37:33 PM 1122 Views
Re: Actually - 06/08/2011 11:38:52 PM 1034 Views
Oeh - 07/08/2011 01:54:19 PM 870 Views
Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 06/08/2011 06:36:35 PM 959 Views
Re: Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 06/08/2011 07:08:25 PM 956 Views
Re: Hmmm... there's some truth to that - 07/08/2011 12:46:23 AM 944 Views
The complexity of the problem makes it all but impossible to falsify... - 06/08/2011 08:26:06 PM 968 Views
The questions go deeper - 06/08/2011 08:38:31 PM 1001 Views
Re: The questions go deeper - 06/08/2011 09:10:32 PM 980 Views
I think I know why you don't understand my question. - 06/08/2011 09:38:41 PM 1009 Views
TalkOrigins addresses this at length. - 06/08/2011 11:14:52 PM 1033 Views
Not very much, but interesting none the less - 06/08/2011 11:38:36 PM 1043 Views
Re: Natural selection - 07/08/2011 03:00:30 AM 975 Views
Thanks a lot - 07/08/2011 01:38:39 PM 1108 Views
2 things - 07/08/2011 04:00:35 PM 852 Views
Re: 2 things - 07/08/2011 04:33:00 PM 1080 Views
Re: 2 things - 07/08/2011 05:48:26 PM 905 Views
My best guess - 07/08/2011 06:00:28 PM 963 Views
Re: My best guess - 07/08/2011 06:37:58 PM 878 Views
Re: My best guess - 07/08/2011 06:47:26 PM 1030 Views
Re: My best guess - 07/08/2011 07:02:27 PM 908 Views
Re: My best guess - 07/08/2011 09:09:57 PM 1001 Views

Reply to Message