Page 178 - The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

The Prophet Abraham (pbuh)

Natural selection holds that those living things that are
stronger and more suited to the natural conditions of their habitats
will survive in the struggle for life. For example, in a deer herd un-
der 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 mecha-
nism will not cause deer to evolve and transform themselves 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 differ-
ences or variations occur. 26

Lamarck's Impact

So, how could these "favorable variations" occur? Darwin tried
to answer this question from the standpoint of the primitive under-
standing 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 accumulated 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 gener-
ation.
Darwin also gave
similar examples. In his

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