Difference between revisions of "Vestigial structures"
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Examples of vestigial structures include, but are not limited to, the [[human]] [[appendix]]<ref>http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11555</ref>, the [[wing]]s of an [[ostrich]], the [[pelvis|pelvic]] bones of [[whale]]s and [[boa]]s <ref>http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Boa</ref>, and the [[eye]]s of the [[mole]] and cave-dwelling [[salamander]]s.<ref>http://www.bookrags.com/research/vestigial-structures-wap/</ref> | Examples of vestigial structures include, but are not limited to, the [[human]] [[appendix]]<ref>http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11555</ref>, the [[wing]]s of an [[ostrich]], the [[pelvis|pelvic]] bones of [[whale]]s and [[boa]]s <ref>http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Boa</ref>, and the [[eye]]s of the [[mole]] and cave-dwelling [[salamander]]s.<ref>http://www.bookrags.com/research/vestigial-structures-wap/</ref> | ||
| − | In the view of secular evolutionists, vestigial structures are some of the best evidence in favor of [[evolution]] and against [[Intelligent Design]] because they believe they are explained by [[natural selection]], but it is difficult to justify why an intelligent [[creator]] would include seemingly useless structures in the design of [[organism]]s. Proponents of a creation or intelligent design model would counter that | + | In the view of secular evolutionists, vestigial structures are some of the best evidence in favor of [[evolution]] and against [[Intelligent Design]] because they believe they are explained by [[natural selection]], but it is difficult to justify why an intelligent [[creator]] would include seemingly useless structures in the design of [[organism]]s. Proponents of a creation or intelligent design model would counter that even if science is not currently able to determine the function of a particular structure, that does not constitute evidence that the structure has no function. It only means that science is not able to determine the function using current methods. Indeed, other structures believed to be useless in the past were later found to have definite functions. Such structures include the [[tonsils]], [[thymus]], and [[pineal gland]] among many others. The tonsils were found to help fight infection, and the thymus and pineal gland were both found secrete important hormones.<ref>http://www.darwinismrefuted.com/embryology_02.html#313</ref> In the case of [[creationists]], there is the added element of [[the fall]], where it is understood current conditions are not the way God originally designed. |
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 20:34, May 23, 2007
Vestigial structures are those anatomical structures which have no discernable function in their present form in modern species, but may have had a function in that species' ancestors.[1]
Examples of vestigial structures include, but are not limited to, the human appendix[2], the wings of an ostrich, the pelvic bones of whales and boas [3], and the eyes of the mole and cave-dwelling salamanders.[4]
In the view of secular evolutionists, vestigial structures are some of the best evidence in favor of evolution and against Intelligent Design because they believe they are explained by natural selection, but it is difficult to justify why an intelligent creator would include seemingly useless structures in the design of organisms. Proponents of a creation or intelligent design model would counter that even if science is not currently able to determine the function of a particular structure, that does not constitute evidence that the structure has no function. It only means that science is not able to determine the function using current methods. Indeed, other structures believed to be useless in the past were later found to have definite functions. Such structures include the tonsils, thymus, and pineal gland among many others. The tonsils were found to help fight infection, and the thymus and pineal gland were both found secrete important hormones.[5] In the case of creationists, there is the added element of the fall, where it is understood current conditions are not the way God originally designed.
External Links
- Modern Evolutionary Theory versus Intelligent Design: Vestigial Structures/Evolutionary Remnants
- Dembski's blissful misunderstanding of design