Page 480 - The Signs of Prophet Jesus' (pbuh) Second Coming

Signs of Jesus’ (pbuh)
Second Coming

deer to evolve and transform themselves into another living species,
for instance, horses.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolution-

ary 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. 74

Lamarck's Impact

So, how could these "favor-

able variations" occur? Darwin
tried to answer this question from
the standpoint of the primitive un-
derstanding 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
Lamarck believed that giraffes the next generation. He asserted
evolved from such animals as
antelopes. In his view, the necks that these traits, which accumu-
of these grass-eating animals lated from one generation to an-
gradually grew longer, and they
eventually turned into giraffes. other, caused new species to be
The laws of inheritance discov- formed. For instance, he claimed
ered by Mendel in 1865 proved
that it was impossible for prop- that giraffes evolved from an-
erties acquired during life to be
telopes; as they struggled to eat the
handed on to subsequent gener-
ations. Lamarck's giraffe fairy leaves of high trees, their necks
tale was thus consigned to the
were extended from generation to
wastebin of history.

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