Page 225 - Allah's Gentle Artistry

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Species, By Means of Natural Selection…
Natural selection holds that those living things that are stron-
ger and more suited to the natural conditions of their habitats
will survive in the struggle for 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 them-
selves into another living species, for instance, horses.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolu-
tionary 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 dif-
ferences or variations occur. 44

Lamarck's Impact

So, how could these "favorable variations" occur? Darwin tri-
ed 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 du-
ring their lifetime to the next generation. He asserted that these
traits, which accumulated from one generation to another, cau-
sed new species to be formed. For instance, he claimed that gi-
raffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat the leaves
of high trees, their necks were extended from generation to ge-
neration.
Darwin also gave similar examples. In his book The Origin of
Species, for instance, he said that some bears going into water to
find food transformed themselves into whales over time. 45