The Truth of Evolution
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“As a rule we disbelieve all the facts and theories for which we have no use.” ~ William James
A reader recently commented that there are theistic scientists who reject biological evolution, and this is why the reader also rejects the truth of evolution. As for the fact that an individual scientist rejects the near-unanimous opinion of other scientists, this is hardly surprising. There are hundreds of thousands of scientists in USA—more than ten million if you count all those employed with science and engineering degrees—so it is easy to find a few outliers. You could probably find a (very) few scientists who believe in Bigfoot or alien abductions too. But none of this changes the fact that evolution has the same scientific status as the theory of gravity or atomic theory, a claim easily verified at the National Academy of Science website or any of the hundreds of legitimate scientific websites listed below.
The consensus of belief in biological evolution is based on the overwhelming evidence from multiple sciences including physics, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, population biology, ornithology, herpetology, paleontology, geology, zoology, botany, comparative anatomy, population ecology, anthropology and more. Anyone who tells you they don’t believe in evolution is either lying or scientifically illiterate. Remember that when you get a flu shot each year or finish your antibiotics, you’re implicitly accepting evolution—viruses and bacteria evolve quickly.
Still, it is possible that the outliers are correct. Maybe what goes up doesn’t come back down, perhaps the earth is flat or things don’t change over time—perhaps the gods deceive us about all of this to test our faith. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Searching for and finding a rare outlier is simple confirmation bias—finding cases to confirm what one already believes.
Yet I have no illusions that anything I say will change people’s minds. I learned long ago that people don’t want to know, they want to believe. Interestingly, credulity itself has evolutionary origins. We are wired to believe what our parents tell us—it helped us survive—hence we often believe in adulthood what we were told when we were young.
Yet at the same time, I sometimes wonder what difference it all makes. I know that biological evolution is true beyond any reasonable doubt and those who don’t know this are mistaken. But so what? Does it really do me any good to know this? Perhaps others are happier with their false beliefs and maybe that is more important than being right. I just don’t know.
But for those interested in the truth about the fact of evolution you can visit any of these links.
Alabama Academy of ScienceAmerican Anthropological Association (1980)American Anthropological Association (2000)American Association for the Advancement of Science (1923)American Association for the Advancement of Science (1972)American Association for the Advancement of Science (1982)American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002)American Association for the Advancement of Science Commission on Science EducationAmerican Association of Physical AnthropologistsAmerican Astronomical SocietyAmerican Astronomical Society (2000)American Astronomical Society (2005)American Chemical Society (1981)American Chemical Society (2005)American Geological InstituteAmerican Geophysical Union (1981)American Geophysical Union (2003)American Institute of Biological SciencesAmerican Physical SocietyAmerican Psychological Association (1982)American Psychological Association (2007)American Society for Microbiology (2006)American Society of Biological ChemistsAmerican Society of ParasitologistsAmerican Sociological AssociationAssociation for Women GeoscientistsAssociation of Southeastern BiologistsAustralian Academy of ScienceBiophysical SocietyBotanical Society of AmericaCalifornia Academy of SciencesCommittee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and ComputingEcological Society of AmericaFederation of American Societies for Experimental BiologyGenetics Society of AmericaGeological Society of America (1983)Geological Society of America (2001)Geological Society of AustraliaGeorgia Academy of Science (1980)Georgia Academy of Science (1982)Georgia Academy of Science (2003)History of Science SocietyIdaho Scientists for Quality Science EducationInterAcademy PanelIowa Academy of Science (1981)Iowa Academy of Science (1986)Iowa Academy of Science (2000)Kansas Academy of ScienceKentucky Academy of ScienceKentucky Paleontological SocietyLouisiana Academy of Sciences (1982)Louisiana Academy of Sciences (2006)National Academy of Sciences (1972)National Academy of Sciences (1984)National Academy of Sciences (2007)New Mexico Academy of ScienceNew Orleans Geological SocietyNew York Academy of SciencesNorth American Benthological SocietyNorth Carolina Academy of Science (1982)North Carolina Academy of Science (1997)Ohio Academy of ScienceOhio Math and Science CoalitionPennsylvania Academy of SciencePennsylvania Council of Professional GeologistsPhilosophy of Science AssociationResearch!AmericaRoyal Astronomical Society of Canada — Ottawa CentreRoyal SocietyRoyal Society of CanadaRoyal Society of Canada, Academy of ScienceSigma Xi, Louisiana State University ChapterSociety for Amateur ScientistsSociety for Integrative and Comparative BiologySociety for NeuroscienceSociety for Organic PetrologySociety of Physics StudentsSociety of Systematic BiologistsSociety of Vertebrate Paleontology (1986)Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1994)Southern Anthropological SocietyTallahassee Scientific SocietyTennessee Darwin CoalitionThe Paleontological SocietyVirginia Academy of ScienceWest Virginia Academy of ScienceI’m sure you could find many others … if you are really interested in the truth.
