Why is evolution still a theory?

Question

how much evidence do scientists need?

Answer 1

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/g...

this article explains why it is a theory

AND

a fact.

Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from apelike ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other, yet to be discovered.

if you read the entire article you get your answer

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...

a video which explains evolution from Carl Sagan.

Punctuated equilibrium is a theory that  describes how under certain circumstances species change to adapt to thier environmental changes.

The long specific record in fossils is only one "book"

The experiments on insects and animals wiht short life spans have proved that dna changes  stay in continuing generations if

it is good for the whole species within their environment.

Those animals who are less well adapted for survival do not pass on their dna so their generations end.

its called natural selection.

The argument of creationism vs. evolution is not possible because science and religion have different structures of beliefs

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...

To argue and come out with a sensible answer, you must stay within an assigned system like a conceptual framework.

Decide on the areas that can be compared.

Science has a conceptual framfork called emperical evidence.

Religion has conceptual framworks, but they differ within and without the various religions.

so?

try to compare apples and oranges to be trite.

Differences in beliefs are not bad

We have the right to choose what we believe,

the abilities to observe our own beliefs and then change or dismiss what doesn't work for us

or we can just believe what we are told.

that last one will make you crazy

it will keep you busy, but wouldn't you prefer an open mind? where you can gather evidence and then decide how to think about it and under what system of logic.

Answer 2

It's a theory that that has never been proved.

We have still yet to see any evidence of one species becoming another. Variations in the same species doesn't equate to evolution. For all we know at this stage is that those variations are preprogrammed in the DNA as possible variations. Mixing of DNA may make a new type of dog, but it is still a dog. So, even if a complex single cell organism managed to spontaneously form with perfect parts one time or even a thousand times, it wouldn't account for the wonderful variety of life here on Earth.

Evolution claims, random change & natural selection make simple things spontaneously transform into more complex things without recourse to intelligent design. Chance and random changes simply do not produce higher levels of organization & complexity.

Answer 3

Lisedeen (and others) are exactly correct.   Theories don't "graduate" to some other category ... so the phrase "still a theory" makes no sense.

A theory is an *EXPLANATION* for facts.  A theory can never "become" a fact.   A theory is never "proven."   It just accumulates more and more evidence and scientists accept it with more and more confidence ... and we refer to it as a "stronger and stronger" theory.

The theory of evolution is one of the strongest theories in the history of science.   It is hard to imagine it getting any stronger.   It is actually a stronger theory than the theory of gravity ... we know what *causes* evolution (natural selection), while we don't yet know what *causes* gravity.

Answer 4

The scientific community has a very different definition of the word "theory" than the general public does.  A scientific theory is an explanation for a set of facts about a natural process or event.  Some theories are not well supported by the evidence and are rejected by most scientists.  Others hold up well and are accepted by the scientific community as true.  Evolution is one that is so well supported by evidence that virtually the entire scientific community accepts it as true.  Your confusion may come from the fact the scientists used to term theories as "laws" as with Newton's Gravitational Laws or the laws of thermodynamics.  However, there really isn't much difference between the two terms and modern scientists tend to use "theory" instead since it is more accurate.  To term something a "law" is not the best term since it often turns out to be an incomplete picture, as Einstein modified Newton's laws.  I hope that clears it up for you.

Answer 5

luvly Bee it is such narrow-mindedness that caused the Dark Ages. Evolution is oneof the more documented and supported SCINTIFIC theories ever established. Without evolution  biology makes no sense at all..Convergent evidence from molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, geology, paleontology, physics, and many more disciplines have celarly illustrated evolution as the acceptable explanation of animal diversity .You need to really read something and understand before making such ridiculous statements..especially since the National Academy of Sciences ( with over 60 Nobel laureates ,( which you are not ) endorces evolution ..as well as many mainsteram religions.   Your wishing for something to be true certainly does not make it true .  Bring your evidence    to the table and then let's talk...have not seen the results of the Dover decision have you ?

Answer 6

Scientists have enough info, but to truly state it as a fact, they need immense speciation where a species becomes completely different looking (to show to skeptics), and proof of human evolution from a common ancestor (even though there is already immense evidence)

Answer 7

because it isn't true!

Answer 8

You are looking at the word theory in the wrong context. In science nothing can transcend theories. In the scientific context a theory is a compilation of facts, observations and experiements that explain a phenomeon. In the case of evolution, it is the change of life over time. That is why we still have the atomic theory (which states that all matter is made of atoms) and the germ theory of disease (which states that disease is caused by microbiotic life). It isn't that they are unsupported by evidence, it is that they can go no further. In science theories are actually more valued that Laws. A law only describes a single observation. A theory explains it, and in science explanations are much more important than simple descriptions.

Answer 9

because basic laws of logic means that you cannot prove something through experimentation. what you can do is disprove it.

lets consider an example.

we are trying to test gravity, we devise an experiment where we drop a ball and observes whether or not the ball falls to the earth. let A be the statement or hypothesis gravity, and B be the ball falls to the ground. if we do our experiment a million times and the ball just one of those times floats in mid-air, the theory of gravity would have been disproved. but even when the ball falls to the earth all of the one million times we would still not have proved that gravity works unequivocally, because our experiment only tests if A→B, or A implies B, if B is wrong then the entire statement is false, but if B is true then A can have any truth value, true or false.

so even though it is highly unlikely it is possible that something else than gravity is responsible for the ball falling to earth just as it is possible that something else than evolution is responsible for the diversity of life.

but it is important to remember that it is incredibly unlikely, more of a theoretical possibility really, for all practical purposes evolution can be regarded as a natural part of our world

Answer 10

For the same reason that the General Theory of Relativity and the Theory of Gravity are theories.  Even if no one ever identifies an observation which disagrees with the predictions of the theory, they will always remain theories.

"A common misconception is that scientific theories are rudimentary ideas that will eventually graduate into scientific laws when enough data and evidence has been accumulated. This is not true, as scientific theory and scientific law have different definitions. A theory does not change into a scientific law with the accumulation of new or better evidence. A theory will always remain a theory, a law will always remain a law. A theory will never become a law, and a law never was a theory."