Pros and Cons

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Evolution cannot satisfactorily explain our world
For	Against
Research into epigenetics has shown that environmental factors affect characteristics of organisms, and these changes are sometimes passed on to the offspring Evolution is only a theory. It is not a fact or a scientific law. Evolution is unscientific, because it is not falsifiable I refuse to believe that I am descended from a monkey Evolution contradicts the Bible, and the Bible is the word of God, so the Bible must be right, and evolution must be wrong our world is such a complex working system that it must have been designed There is no evidence of spirituality in animals, so religion could not have evolved Evolution cannot explain how life first appeared on earth Human mental abilities are so far ahead of animals' that evolution cannot be the only cause Natural selection is based on circular reasoning: the fittest are those who survive, and those who survive are deemed fittest. The evolution of life on earth is unscientific, because it is not testable due to the fact that it is not repeatable	evolution is for better adapted to the environment. Thus, those fit to the changing world can be explained by it. most biologists believe that evolution satisfactorily explains our world

Research into epigenetics has shown that environmental factors affect characteristics of organisms, and these changes are sometimes passed on to the offspring
For	Against
	Epigenetics does not give rise to new species, so it does not refute evolution

Evolution is only a theory. It is not a fact or a scientific law.
For	Against
	Evolution is both a fact and a theory

Evolution is both a fact and a theory
For	Against
The NAS defines a fact as "an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as 'true.'"	Wikipedia defines a scientific fact: "an objective and verifiable observation, in contrast with a theory, which is an explanation

Wikipedia defines a scientific fact: "an objective and verifiable observation, in contrast with a theory, which is an explanation
For	Against
evolution is not an observation, it is an interpretation; so it is a theory, not a fact Anyone can modify the content of wikipedia, so wikipedia is not a reliable source	Another page on Wikipedia states that evolution is both fact and theory

The NAS defines a fact as "an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as 'true.'"
For	Against
	This definition does not appear on the National Academy of Sciences' web pages

Evolution is unscientific, because it is not falsifiable
For	Against
	if modern human fossils were found embedded in strata from the Jurassic period it would falsify the theory of evolution

if modern human fossils were found embedded in strata from the Jurassic period it would falsify the theory of evolution
For	Against
	controversial science is sometimes hidden; eg Darwin delayed publication of his theories from 1845 to 1859 inconvenient evidence is sometimes deliberately hidden; eg the covering of the Kennewick man site Jurassic fossil humans would not falsify evolution, as scientists might claim it was a case of convergent evolution

I refuse to believe that I am descended from a monkey
For	Against
	Evolution does not claim that you are descended from a monkey

Evolution does not claim that you are descended from a monkey
For	Against
Evolution claims that humans and monkeys have a common ancestor

Evolution claims that humans and monkeys have a common ancestor
For	Against
	We have no tails!

We have no tails!
For	Against
	some human babies have tails humans have the remains of a tail inside our bodies: a bone at the bottom of the spine called a coccyx

some human babies have tails
For	Against
	Human tails are birth defects, not evidence of evolution

Evolution contradicts the Bible, and the Bible is the word of God, so the Bible must be right, and evolution must be wrong
For	Against
	Some words in the Bible may have been translated differently by different humans, with consequent changes in meaning Evolution does not contradict the Bible

our world is such a complex working system that it must have been designed
For	Against
	evolution can create complex systems

There is no evidence of spirituality in animals, so religion could not have evolved
For	Against
	Elephants appear to mourn their dead, a sign of spirituality Religion evolved in humans due to a combination of other evolved traits: agent detection, causal reasoning and folk psychology animals have evolved morality, an important part of religion

Evolution cannot explain how life first appeared on earth
For	Against
	Evolution explains how one species evolves from another, not how the first life started the problem of first life is a paradoxical concept that even theory of genesis cannot avoid or satisfactorily answer

the problem of first life is a paradoxical concept that even theory of genesis cannot avoid or satisfactorily answer
For	Against
	Genesis is not a theory. It is a collection of stories. There are two different explanations offered for our origin.

Human mental abilities are so far ahead of animals' that evolution cannot be the only cause
For	Against
	Animals have evolved far ahead of humans in other mental abilities, eg whale & bat echo-location

Natural selection is based on circular reasoning: the fittest are those who survive, and those who survive are deemed fittest.
For	Against
	Survival of the fittest is not a good summary of natural selection

Survival of the fittest is not a good summary of natural selection
For	Against
survival of the fittest refers to individuals, but natural selection refers to populations

The evolution of life on earth is unscientific, because it is not testable due to the fact that it is not repeatable
For	Against
	Repeatability can be replaced by observation. The evolution of life on earth can be observed in the fossil record and in DNA studies.