Thursday 10 February 2011

Morning Scepticism: Prior

Abiogenesis is often coupled with evolutionary theory in that the failure to have an explanation of life's origins is seen as a failure of evolutionary theory. This is like complaining about plate tectonics because plate tectonics require planetary formation. "How can there be plates if you don't have a theory that can account for the formation of planets to have plates on?" would be a comparable statement. Though to show the absurdity, perhaps a more extreme example should be used.

"How can you say that recipe makes an apple pie, when that recipe doesn't explain where spacetime came from?" As Carl Sagan said, if you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe. The recipe for the pie doesn't need to explain cosmology, just how to make a pie. Likewise the theory of evolution doesn't need to explain the origin of life, just how life changes over time.

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