No, Evolution is Not Random
Just a little article explaining how aspects of evolution appear random, but overall it is governed by order.
I read a little of it. Easy to understand, and I agree with it. Would be nice to quote some of it here.
Step 1: Mutation. This step introduces new genetic variants into the population.
Step 2: Natural selection. In this step, some of these new genetic variants make it into the next generation, and some do not.
(This is a bit of a simplification, but it is good enough for our current purposes).
Step 1, mutation, is random. Mutations don’t arise in order to fill a current “need” of the organism. They are blind and they lack foresight, so they also can’t anticipate future needs. In this sense, they can reasonably be described as random. They can also be thought of as “random” in the sense that they are not automatically helpful; a new mutation may turn out to be beneficial
or harmful
or neutral.
However:
Step 2, natural selection, is not random at all. In fact, it is the diametric opposite of randomness. In this step, mutations that turn out to be beneficial to the organism are more likely to make it into the next generation
precisely because they aid the organism’s survival or reproduction. Mutations that are harmful are
less likely to make it into the next generation precisely because they lower the organism’s likelihood of survival or reproduction. If you give it a moment’s thought, you will see that this is the opposite of a random relationship. If something is random, it is inherently unpredictable and not orderly. Natural selection is the opposite. It is logical and predictable: the likelihood that a mutation will make it into the next generation depends, in a predictable way, on its effects on survival and reproduction. Beneficial mutations tend to get passed on, whereas detrimental ones are weeded out. This is a constrained and orderly relationship – the opposite of “randomness”.
