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               dividuals’ offspring into life forms that  long period of time, a new species will
               were very different from their forerun-  emerge.
               ner. (How these beneficial changes came  However, this theory of evolution by
               about unclear, however.) According to  way of natural selection, as by Darwin
               Darwin, human beings were the most  proposed it, left unanswered the most
               advanced product of this hypothetical  fundamental questions right from the
               mechanism.                          outset. If living things had evolved in
                  Darwin called this product of his  stages, as Darwin claimed, then a great
               own imagination “evolution by way of  many transitional forms must have exis-
               natural selection.” He now imagined that  ted as well. Yet the fossil record revealed
               he had discovered the origin of species.  no trace of these theoretical transitional
               The origin of any one species was anot-  life forms. Darwin puzzled over this
               her, less developed species. He eventu-  problem for a long time and eventually
               ally announced these ideas in his book  had to conclude that hopefully, such fos-
               The Origin of Species, published in  sils would be unearthed in the future.
               1859.                               Despite the passage of the intervening
                  Darwin constructed his theory on the  150 years, however, the expected fossils
               concept of natural selection, which me-  have still not been found.
               ant the survival of the strongest indivi-  Darwin was in an equally hopeless
               duals or those best able to adapt to envi-  position when it came to accounting for
               ronmental conditions in the struggle for  such complex organs as the eye, ear and
               survival in their environment. That is the  wing in terms of natural selection. It was
               claim emphasized in the subtitle of Dar-  impossible to maintain that these organs
               win’s book: The Origin of Species: By  developed in stages, since the absence of
               Means of Natural Selection.         even a single component would render
                  Darwin’s groundless logic followed  them totally functionless,. (See Irredu-
               this reasoning:                     cible Complexity.) Indeed, Darwin was
                  There are natural and random diffe-  forced to state the difficulties he experi-
               rences within any living species. Some  enced regarding his theory in his book.
               cattle are larger than others, for example,  (See Origin of Species, the)
               and others are darker in color. Those  Before all, the question of how the
               characteristics that are most advantageo-  organism that by Darwin referred to as
               us will be favored through natural selec-  the ancestor of all living things came in-
               tion, and the beneficial characteristic in  to being remained a complete mystery—
               question will thus come to predominate  because it is impossible for inanimate
               in that animal population. Through an  matter to come alive by means of natural
               accumulation of these features over a  processes. Eventually, advances in sci-


                                                      THE EVOLUTION IMPASSE I
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