How would you respond to someone who tells you (a) that he or she does not believe in biological evolution?

Question

it is "just a theory"? How would you respond if another student states, (b) we should not worry about air pollution because through natural selection, the human species will develop lungs that can detoxify pollutants? In your responses, be sure to provide factual evidence from earth's history

Answer 1

As an anthropologist, I have to admit I'm more interested in why someone wouldn't believe in evolution than trying to convince them. So that would be my response. I'd ask why. Then, once I'd gotten a response, I'd probe that belief by quoting the facts and such about evolution to gauge their response. I actually do this pretty frequently.

As for humans evolving to detoxify pollutants...I wonder if people actually realize that if this were to happen through natural selection, it would almost certainly require the deaths of huge numbers of individuals, not to mention that it would take hundreds of generations for such a change to occur, if it ever did. There's no guarantee of that at all. It is overwhelmingly more likely that  if we poison the air enough to where it starts being a major selection factor, we're all just going to die. There are plenty of other species on planet Earth that can metabolize or survive in pollution. They're the guys being selected for in that case. Remember that selection doesn't just happen within a species.

Answer 2

I am a biologist, and I don't think you can convince a skeptic that evolution is correct.  See, evolution is unlike other scientific theories because it cannot be tested.  We cannot re-run the history of the world under different circumstances to see what would happen.  The history of Earth happened once and only once.  We can make educated guesses about what occurred in the past, but we can never know for sure.  It is just a theory.  Any scientists who claims that we have proven evolution is completely mistaken.  There are gaps in the evidence.  Even though I believe that the theory of evolution makes the most sense, it is still just a theory, and I feel that I must respect other opinions.  You could try presenting the evidence for evolution, but ultimately some people simply won't be persuaded.

As for the second point, I supppose it is possible that we could evolve to deal with environmental pollution.  However, evolution takes a very long time, and we are polluting the environment at a pretty quick rate.  It is questionable whether or not evolution could keep up.  Surely some species will survive despite our activities; we might not be one of those species though.  I have a lot of faith in humanity and nature, however, so I tend to think that we'll make it through and the the pollution/global warming ordeal is more of a scare tactic used by politicians than a legitimate scientific prediction.

Answer 3

i disagree .its ok for them to believe otherwise . dont argue

Answer 4

b) is easier.  There are no guarantees in evolution.  Organisms don't automatically evolve traits to help them survive adverse conditions.  Also, merely surviving does not mean a good quality of life.

a) Some people don't believe in evolution.  I don't agree, but will defend their right to their beliefs.  In a classroom situation, the student can be required to fully learn and understand the theory, but believing it is not a requirement.

Answer 5

A.  They're entitled to believe or not believe according to what makes sense to them.  And honestly, the theory of evolution is just a theory, ever be it a highly likely one.  They could also not choose to believe in the theory of relativity or in speculative reason either.  They have to learn it but they don't have to believe it.

B.  This is retarded.  Evolution is gradiated and with a sudden change like air pollution there simply isn't enough time for humans to evolved in grades.  That's like saying if you stomp on a box of spiders, they'll develop super spider armor.

Answer 6

(a) I would tell them that they are ignorant to the science of evolution, and to science in general.  After all, they don't even know what a theory is.

(b) Evolution can't keep up with the amount we are changing the environment.  The earth goes through gradual changes, which allows species to evolve.  With more sudden changes, it causes many species to die off.  Also, you can't evolve to suit any environment.  For example, life can't survive on many planets because the environment doesn't allow for it.  You can't expect humans to adapt to pollution is the pollution itself creates an uninhabitable environment.

Answer 7

It can be difficult to convince people who are more interested in belonging to a group and who are worried about offending that group.  Some people are like the proverbial ostrich with their head buried in the sand and really don't want to learn the truth.  Evolution is just a theory but it is a theory that has been backed but mountains of evidence.  Since it was proposed by Darwin, the fossil evidence has uncovered numerous transitional forms as well as closely related forms that can be traced back in the fossil record.  Being a geologist, I am well aware of the limitations of fossil evidence but there is abundant evidence of certain animals evolving over time.  A good example is the Horse which evolved from a small cat sized animal with many toes called an Eohippus.  More recently, we have learned about DNA and have studied the mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA which has showed many things, among them that our closest suspected relative, chimps, are in fact diverged from common ancestors around 6 million years ago.

Answer 8

They are entitled to their own opinion. It is not worth my time to discuss it with someone like that.