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Theory Of Evolution Essays and Research Papers

Instructions for Theory Of Evolution College Essay Examples

Title: Theory of Evolution

Total Pages: 6 Words: 1577 Bibliography: 0 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: This paper's topic shall be: The Theory of Evolution- Why is there still opposition to it? It should be on the level of a first semester Freshmean who has to take the Biology course. Citations are not necessarry, but can be included if needed.

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Essay Instructions: BIOLOGY

Scientific and historical evidence does not support the theory of evolution?. Discuss this statement presenting arguments from the viewpoint of the proponents of intelligent design and of the evolutionists.

Your essay should include:
? Clearly argued statements of the two viewpoints.
? Evidence supporting or refuting the statement
? Evidence of background reading and research.
? References to published work in the text and cited in a reference list in the correct Harvard style format.
? A clear structure.
? Attention to style, grammar, spelling and punctuation

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Title: Darwin theory of evolution

Total Pages: 5 Words: 1784 References: 3 Citation Style: APA Document Type: Essay

Essay Instructions: For your last essay of this semester, I'd like you to do some research on Charles Darwin and his well-known Theory of Evolution. As always, start with a general overview of this--or ANY--TOPIC and then go deeper in your research, using the library databases and scholarly [minimum 3] articles to get the highest grade. Shallow research gets shallow grades.

What I am looking for in this assignment is for you to take a side and construct an argument. In other words, make a CASE for one side or the other.

The BASIC QUESTION here is this: Is Darwin's Theory of human evolution TRUE or NOT TRUE [notice I did not say FALSE; more on this to follow]. A better way to say this is as follows: Is the evidence for the theory strong [i.e., VALID] or weak [INVALID]?



Read through the info you have gathered paying some attention as you go to the the debate as it is shaped by the two sides. At this point, I want you to read with an eye toward evaluation of the writer's evidence, and demonstration. But BEWARE...

...You are NOT making a case for [or against] RELIGION, CREATIONISM, THE BIBLE or anything else. You must confine yourself to the idea of DARWIN'S CASE: is it strong or weak. Please do not load up your essay with your personal opinion until the final paragraph, in which you may expatiate at length on your personal beliefs on the TOPIC.



THE PROBLEM with DARWIN"S THEORY

What I read in Darwin is a planted axiom that he believes, but he really does not present much empirical evidence that directly demonstrates his theory. What I mean is that he does not convince me. If I am nothing but an ape with a better haircut [some days!] or a monkey's cousin in clothing, what proof of that assertion do I find in HIS--or anyone else's-- writings?

When Darwin wrote Origin of Species in 1859, modern science was in the midst of its third century. If you don't know the story of where we got science, it's a beaut, and you ought to give it some heed. It goes thusly.

In 1543, Copernicus died, leaving behind a cold corpse and a hot theory that the earth was not the center of the universe or even, for that matter, the solar system. This new helioicentric idea was no more than an interesting THEORY lacking proof, and so it lingered for the next sixty or so years.

Enter Galileo around 1600. It's the Renaissance [and the Reformation] and Shakespeare and Bacon [Francis, not Roger] and Cervantes and Kepler are all alive. Queen Liz One dies in 1603, and four years later John Smith will help lead the first permanent English-speaking settlement at Jamestown, named for the same king who will lend his name to the world's most famous and influential translation of the Bible [the KJV of 1611].

It is January 1610 [that's 400 years ago for the math challenged]. Galileo is looking through the newly invented telescope--which he helped perfect--and he's eyeballing Jupiter, being a good empiricist, and writing down his nightly observations. [Empirical method basically deals with observations, sort of like what you did in Chemistry class or Bio.]

Each evening he records the positions of four odd-looking "stars" which seem to be, unlike the fixed stars, moving every time he sees them. In short, as he watches them changing places, he concludes that they're GOING AROUND JUPITER.

So what? Well, this is the "missing link" of sorts [sorry, Chuck], the proof that Copernicus was right and that his theory was not just a foolish speculation.

At this point you may be asking what my point is here, but lest you miss out, this is the real birth of what is termed "modern science". Born around 1600, true science can only be done when we have a workable cosmology, such as that given to us by the Copernican Revolution, as it's rightly known. After all, if we believe that the earth is a giant, flat, shield-like structure resting on the back of a huge turtle [or elephant or crocodile--yea, people actually believed this once upon a time], we cannot do real science. Knowledge, which is what the word "science" means in Latin, can only be pursued when truths such as those given to us by thinkers such as Copernicus are made the basis for the edifice the will arise later.

Fast forward to November/December, 1859. Lincoln [who, amazingly!, was BORN ON THE SAME DAY AS DARWIN in February of 1809 (tell me God doesn't't have a sense of humor)], is about to capture the Republican nomination for president as Darwin publishes his earth-,and heaven-shaking book. The game is afoot. If Darwin is right, slavery is no big deal since we are just bags of protoplasm whose expiration date is written by the strongest, meanest guy on the block. [Sorry, Mssr. Rousseau.] In the jungle if life, it is the "war of all against all" as Hobbes said, with the survival of the fittest the only possible outcome. If there is no soul and no God and no survival after death, then ANY MORALITY IS AS GOOD AS THE NEXT BECAUSE THERE IS NO DIVINE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH WHAT TRUTH OR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS [thanks a lot, Dr. Singer; if an atheist like you can dictate morality, why not that Adolf guy?] But back to our sponsor.

Darwin believed in his theory but you don't have to. I want you to read his piece with a skeptical eye, asking for the sort of proof that a Galileo provided for Copernicus. To this end, I want you to structure your final writing as follows:

1. Read and highlight the selection as needed, looking for the presentation of evidence that supports the theory. [As Darwin himself said, the proof of his assertions would be found in the FOSSIL RECORD. Is that so? HELPER: Find out if you can what Darwin said about the human eye and how it could effect his theory; very revealing!]. Do some research, this time beyond Wikipedia, though you may begin there and collect some definitions for the terms mentioned below in #2. Use MLA style for in-text citations of your sources [available on-line]. Most of the BODY of your paper will be looking at Darwin's assertions and writing your critique of them, either for or against.

2. You may wish to define some terms here. What is EMPIRICISM and what is meant by its opposite idea RATIONALISM? After the definition [you may use multiple sources], include some EXAMPLES so that your DEFINITION is clear and complete. This can be done in one or two paragraphs.

3. Look up ARGUMENT. You should devote ONE PARAGRAPH to what it is and what it does. What are some components of this type of writing? Define the term EVIDENCE, and see if you can find anything about DIRECT and/or CIRCUMSTANTIAL types. One paragraph most should form your discussion here, and you may, if you wish, devote some space to the role of logic in argumentum.

4. Biographical detail should be avoided in this paper. See if you can find some critics of Darwinism and the theory of natural selection. You may choose either to write in support of or in opposition to Darwin's ideas, but do so from reputable scientific bases. If you wish to look at the ideas of Creationists or the theories behind Intelligent Design you may do so with the proviso that these notions are generally not accepted as meeting the criteria of being true science. [Really, they represent a whole separate controversy on their own.]

5. Some names of the opposition include Philip Johnson and George Gilder, both of whom are associated with the Discovery Institute. As always, a fast trip to Wikiland will fill in some of the details. You may explore ideas here if you so desire. Are their criticisms valid? Beyond these two, Michael Behe has written extensively on Darwin and problems with his theory.

6. If you wish, look up Karl Popper and his scientific/philosophical critique of Darwin. [Popper drew in his horns when he himself became the object of Darwinist derision.]

7. If you want to go there,you may read some Wiki articles on the links in the article on EVOLUTION. How is it defined? Are there problems? What was the CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION and what implications does it have for Darwinists?

8. Lastly, for the bold of soul, you may explore the murky waters [!] of SOCIAL DARWINISM, the likes of which arose some decades after Origin of Species, but which critics insist is the logical consequence of a materialist belief that trashes God and morality based on Absolutes. For some thinkers, the inevitable outcome of Disarming is the Nazi death camps wherein one superior race has decided that it must obliterate a lower, mongrel strain in the name of racial purity. Is the logical consequence of a belief that humans are the product of some slime that got lucky a few billion years ago a return to the jungle and a sanction for murder. Yes, this is a moral question, but sooner or later, all philosophies and beliefs must address the moral and ethical dimension. Both Plato and Aristotle understood that the end of man in the state depended upon how said state was constituted. If Darwinism is true, must we adjust the social order to reflect this view. You may write as much or as little as you decide on this question.

9 LENGTH: 4 to 5 pages of text [do not count the Works Cited page], double spaced [PLEASE!!!], 12-point, Times New Roman

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Title: Visit the following website and browse the titles of books which support the theory of evolution

Total Pages: 3 Words: 870 Works Cited: 10 Citation Style: MLA Document Type: Research Paper

Essay Instructions: The following is the information I was given for the paper. It needs to be double space and the table should only take a quarter of a page (if that) and the arguments from the online reviews must be very strong!!!!!.


The 2 books I chose for Evolution are:
----•Vincent Courtillot: Evolutionary Catastrophes--> The Science of Mass Extinctions
----•Daniel C. Dennett: Darwin's Dangerous Idea* --> Evolution and the Meanings of Life

The 2 books I chose for Creation are:
---- Exploring The Evidence For Creation, Author Henry M Morris III
----Biblical Creationism , Author Henry M. Morris

I chose the books from the following websites in case you need it!
(Visit the following website and browse the titles of books which support the theory of evolution:
http://dannyreviews.com/s/evolution.html
Next, visit the following website which contains a list of books supporting creation science
http://www.icr.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=20_23&zenid=7061819cfc41e89e2a187ff5efaa868d)

The above 4 books are the books the paper should be written based on....reviews, ratings from you, etc. Please use the rating system the professor gave!
Now for the assignment. Visit Amazon.com, the world's largest online bookstore and look up at least two books from each category (Evolution and Creation) from the websites above. Go to their reviews by average citizens and scientists who have read the books and taken the time to write online reviews. Most books have three or four reviews and some have many more. For each, fill in a table similar to the following. Define how you rate the books. For example, 5-stars is the highest rating, 1 star is the lowest, and 3 stars counts a positive. Make sure you indicate in your essay if you chose a different system.

Book Title Number of Reviews Number of Positives Number of Negatives

Essay
Now write a 3-4 or so page essay (double-spaced) characterizing the nature and quality of the reviews and answering the following questions. Can you tell the level of learning achieved by the reviewers (high school, college, post-graduate)? Include quotes that support your arguments. Are there any arguments that were particularly good? Based on the reviews is the theory of evolution in trouble with the populace of the United States? No one argues that the earth is the center of the Universe any more but a large number argue vehemently against Biology's most important theory. Why do you think so many people are so opposed to the scientific theory of evolution? How do we improve the teaching of evolution?

Grading Criteria
Your essay will be graded on your research, strength of arguments, organization, and ideas to improve the teaching of Evolution

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