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Death and Evolution

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
Is becoming old and die was good for the species?
Death is good for earth and for more species to come which is a sign that someone
has planned for it, living for some years and giving birth for new comers.

What do you think? was it just a coincidence or a programmed death mechanism?
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member
Evolution by definition is an incremental change through generations.

Evolution would not exist without death. It would not be needed if there weren't deaths.

As far as it being coincidence or programmed, I don't know. What does God say?
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
Evolution by definition is an incremental change through generations.

Evolution would not exist without death. It would not be needed if there weren't deaths.

Why incremental changes won't happen if there's no death?
I didn't say there's no reproduction.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Is becoming old and die was good for the species?
Death is good for earth and for more species to come which is a sign that someone
has planned for it, living for some years and giving birth for new comers.

What do you think? was it just a coincidence or a programmed death mechanism?
Imagine a planet without death.
 

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
Is becoming old and die was good for the species?
Death is good for earth and for more species to come which is a sign that someone
has planned for it, living for some years and giving birth for new comers.

What do you think? was it just a coincidence or a programmed death mechanism?
I think your premise is silly, and there is simply zero reason at all to assume -- as you did -- that change is "a sign that someone has planned for it." Change is a sign that something changed. Nothing more.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member
Why incremental changes won't happen if there's no death?
I didn't say there's no reproduction.

If there's no death, there's no reason to evolve. Evolution by definition is the survival of a species through life and death scenarios. Those that can survive will propagate their changes.
 
We still have chimps.

The chimps that humans descended from at some point had to move closer to water and relied upon the ability to get food out water heavily. Hence the reason humans are smarter, have less hair, and webbing between fingers and toes. Also 80% of humans live in coastal areas or around large bodies of water. The chimps we have today are descended from chimps who were never in this situation and never had to adapt to life reliant on large bodies of water.
 

FearGod

Freedom Of Mind
The chimps that humans descended from at some point had to move closer to water and relied upon the ability to get food out water heavily. Hence the reason humans are smarter, have less hair, and webbing between fingers and toes. Also 80% of humans live in coastal areas or around large bodies of water. The chimps we have today are descended from chimps who were never in this situation and never had to adapt to life reliant on large bodies of water.

That's it, death has nothing to do with it.
 

columbus

yawn <ignore> yawn
That evolution happens due to mutations and natural selection, death isn't
part of the process.
Then you don't understand evolution. Death is the driving process.
If the first living things just went on living until the planet ended there would be no evolution. The fact that everything dies, and the ones who reproduce before dying are different from the ones who do not, is why species evolved.
Tom
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Evolution happens due to mutations and natural selection, eternal living will still bring new kinds, bacteria still exists.
Natural selection occurs through differential rates of survival among variants. If every variant survives and reproduces, there is no differential survival and no selection effect. This is so obvious.

Further reproduction is exponential. If every progeny survives and if older generations so not die, population of organisms increase without limit. Earth has limited resources. So how is it possible for every individual to acquire enough food to survive.

Finally do you understand what death is. It's an entirely chemical and biological thing. The organism is a chemical factory and death is an irreversible breakdown of the process systems inside the factory either due to lack of raw materials to sustain it (food) or due to corrosion of vital components (old age or disease).

Finally under ideal conditions, certain bacterial cells and even some plants and fungi can indeed live forever. They rarely do due to resource stress or predation. More complicated organisms like us has too many internal parts to indefinitely work as factories without something or the other breaking down. This is old age. Death is not inevitable for all life, just very very probable. And the fact that it occurs is what drives evolution as it selects those who die less often and reproduce more due to better traits over those who do not.
 
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