Michael J. answered • 09/19/17
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Well, it's not religious. Since religion cannot prove whether evolution happened or not. So evolution is scientific. Science is all about observing and using evidence to draw reasonable conclusions.
Arturo O.
You can show MICRO evolution, which entails an already existing species changing over time, but still remaining a member of the same species. For example, you have the dark colored moths in England that survived in trees darkened by industrial pollution, while the light colored moths were more easily found and eaten by predators. This is a case of natural selection, where the moths with "natural" camouflage were more likely to survive, while the others disappeared over time for the most part. But the surviving moths that dominated the changing moth population were still moths. They did not transform into new life forms.
What you cannot observe is MACRO evolution, where a completely new species emerges over time. You can look at fossils, and try to find transitional forms, but you cannot observe the transition going on. That allows for a considerable amount of speculation as you try to interpret the data.
In summary, you can observe changes over time within species that already exist, with the changed organisms still being a member of the same species, but you cannot observe one species transforming into an entirely new species.
There are deeper issues involved in this, perhaps better if discussed in a different forum. May I ask what motivated you to post this question?
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09/19/17
Laurel M.
I am a college student gathering information for a research project. The research: Is Evolution Fact or Belief? Thank you for your contribution! :)
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09/19/17
Arturo O.
Laurel,
Please see my answer and David W.'s answer to another question that you posted on this subject.
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09/19/17
Laurel M.
09/19/17