Page 140 - Is Rumism a Threat ?

138 Is Rumism A Threat?

life. For example, in a deer herd under the threat of attack by wild animals, those
that can run faster will survive. Therefore, the deer herd will be comprised of
faster and stronger individuals. However, unquestionably, this mechanism will
not cause deer to evolve and transform themselves into another living species, for
instance, horses.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolutionary power.
Darwin was also aware of this fact and had to state this in his book The Origin of
Species:

Natural selection can do nothing until favourable individual differences or
variations occur. (Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection, The Modern Library, New York, p. 127)

Lamarck's Fallacy

So, how could these "favorable variations" occur? Darwin tried to answer
this question from the standpoint of the primitive understanding of science at that
time. According to the French biologist Chevalier de Lamarck (1744-1829), who
lived before Darwin, living creatures passed on the traits they acquired during
their lifetime to the next generation. He asserted that these traits, which accumu-
lated from one generation to another, caused new species to be formed. For
instance, he claimed that giraffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat
the leaves of high trees, their necks were extended from generation to generation.