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To: Ichneumon
With all due respect, no, it doesn't (quote 4 evolutionists including abiogenesis in evolution).

"Evolution comprises all the stages of the development of the universe: the cosmic, biological and human or cultural developments. Attempts to restrict the concept of evolution to biology are gratuitous. Life is a product of the evolution of inorganic nature, and man is a product of the evolution of life." (p. 409) - Theodosius Dobzhansky

"Most enlightened persons now accept as a fact that everything in the cosmos - from heavenly bodies to human beings - has developed and continues to develop through evolutionary processes. " (p. 6) René Dubos

Ok maybe it's only two that are clearly linking it in that article.

511 posted on 01/22/2005 5:51:56 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: DannyTN
Ok maybe it's only two that are clearly linking it in that article.

The first one's good, but I'm not sure if the second one really qualifies:

"Most enlightened persons now accept as a fact that everything in the cosmos - from heavenly bodies to human beings - has developed and continues to develop through evolutionary processes. " (p. 6) René Dubos
Without seeing more of the quote's context, it's not clear whether Dubos is speaking of "big 'E' Evolution" (i.e., natural selection / 'the theory of evolution' / Darwinian evolution / etc.), or "small 'e' evolution" (i.e., any process(es) which lead to change over time by any means).

Remember that "evolution" in a non-scientific sense just means "change". (Interesting sidebar: Darwin himself didn't name his notion about biological change "evolution" -- that was the label applied to it by the public.) It seems to me that when Dubos uses the phrase "evolutionary processes" in this quote, he means it in the "processes which cause change" sense, not in the "Darwinian" sense. He's saying that everything in the universe "develops", as opposed to remaining constant and unchanging. Like the old saying, "the only constant is change".

Nor do I see any specific reference to origins in that quote (of life, or anything else).

514 posted on 01/22/2005 6:48:39 AM PST by Ichneumon (.)
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To: DannyTN
...Most enlightened persons now accept as a fact that everything in the cosmos...p>If you substitute "most persons holding advanced degrees in physical science" for "most enligntened persons" the statement is undeniably true.

In any case, it is presented as an opinion.

530 posted on 01/22/2005 12:33:29 PM PST by js1138
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