The Benefits of Providence: A New Look at Divine Sovereignty by James S. Spiegel

Author:James S. Spiegel [Spiegel, James S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Theology, General
ISBN: 9781581346169
Google: MieEGEWOfLsC
Amazon: 1581346166
Goodreads: 1272113
Published: 2005-10-05T04:00:00+00:00

2. Hierarchically classifiable organisms : The great variety of organisms can be organized morphologically in a hierarchical fashion, from simple to more complex life forms. The biological taxonomic system originated by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century is based on this fact and is still used today. For Linnaeus such classifiability of organisms was possible because of the “essences” shared by various groups of plants and animals. Today, however, such essentialism is a controversial, disfavored notion among biologists and philosophers of science. But the Linnaean system has remained in use because of its practicality as an organizational scheme for biology.

3. Homologies and resemblances between species : Although species are reproductively bounded, between many such groups of organisms there are relatively close resemblances, in terms of structure, function, and genetic material. For instance, my biologist colleague Paul Rothrock has named dozens of species of sedges whose structural differences are very slight.36 And, to take a more familiar example, horses and donkeys bear a close resemblance and can even reproduce, though their offspring, usually mules, are not fertile. Of course, in each of these cases the organisms are members of the same genus. Such similarities are not found between all members of, say, the same order. For example, although gorillas and lemurs are both primates, the structural differences between them are vast.

4. Adaptivity and natural selection : Genes for environmentally favorable characteristics are “selected” naturally as organisms live to reproductive maturity. Genetic traits that are disadvantageous, on the other hand, are removed from the gene pool as organisms die before reproducing. Consequently, change and adaptation occur within populations of organisms. But this almost always occurs within species (microevolution) rather than across reproductively bounded populations. The natural production of a new animal species has never been observed.

From these observable facts the conclusion drawn by theistic evolutionists is that evolution has occurred. Or, otherwise put, theistic evolution is judged the best explanatory hypothesis. But this is an unjustified inference based on the above broad categories of data alone. It is here that the theistic evolutionist must appeal to his or her other belief commitments, which pivotally include MN. For how do species diversity, natural selection (microevolution), homologies and resemblances between species, and their hierarchical classifiability suggest common ancestry (as opposed to specified complexity via intelligent design)? These facts alone are not sufficient to warrant extrapolation from the microevolutionary thesis to the macroevolutionary thesis. Of course, these are admittedly psychologically persuasive considerations to many people, but I suggest this is precisely because of their unwitting commitment to MN.

36 See P. E. Rothrock and A. A. Reznicek, “A New Species of Carex Section Ovales Occurring in the Ozark Mountain Region,” Brittonia 48 (1996): 104-110; A. A. Reznicek and P. E. Rothrock, “Carex molestiformis (Cyperaceae), a New Species of Section Ovales from the Ozark Mountain Region,” Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium 21 (1997): 299-308; and P. E. Rothrock and A. A. Reznicek, “The Taxonomy of the Carex bicknellii Group (Cyperaceae) and New Species for Central North America,” Novon 11 (2001): 205-228.

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