THE CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION — Questions on Evolution

THE CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION T HE concept of biological evolution is attributed to the British naturalist, Charles Darwin (1809–1882). On his bicentenary birth anniversary which was celebrated in 2009, his ideas were extensively covered in the media. Jean Baptiste Lamarck had presented the concept of evolution in its elementary form before Darwin. However, the speciality of Darwin was that he presented the concept of evolution in a more organized manner. What is the concept of evolution? The Theory of Evolution proposes that all species of animals and plants developed from earlier forms by hereditary transmission of slight variations in genetic composition to successive generations. The age of the earth is totally inadequate for man and other living species to have come into existence through the process of Evolution. In his book, The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin wrote that life was first created by God in the form of a unicellular organism. Afterwards through mutations based on natural selection; which was a process of survival of the fittest, different life species came to be developed. Finally a developed creature like man came into existence. And all this took place on its own through a gradual evolutionary process. Darwin had given God the position of 'The First Creator' (Prime Mover) in his book, but later supporters of the concept of evolution eliminated God’s name altogether. This entire process of the journey of evolution had taken place on the present earth but later research revealed that it is just not possible for an evolutionary journey of this kind to take place on Earth. For instance, the age of the earth is far less than what is required for an evolutionary process of this kind to reach a high stage of development as required for the evolution of man.