Introduction
One of the biggest questions in the world today is about the origin of life. Indeed, many theories have attempted to explain how the first living things came into existence. In addition, different religions have varied beliefs about how life began. However, none of the religions have been able to provide exhaustive information about the origins of life. For example, Christians believe that a Supreme God created the entire universe and everything that is in it. On the other hand, evolutionists such as Charles Darwin thought that various life forms undergo tremendous changes over the years. It is, however, important to note that the theory of evolution has elicited a lot of misconceptions among people. Some of the common misunderstandings that have now been cleared up are discussed below.
The first common misunderstanding is that human beings originated from apes. Many people in the world today believe that Darwin’s theory of evolution is an explanation of how we evolved from monkeys (West, El Mouden & Gardner, 2011). Some have questioned the credibility and reliability of such information because we are currently not seeing apes transforming to humans. However, this question has been cleared up because Charles Darwin never stated that human beings originated from apes. Instead, he stated that humans originated from ape-like creatures that existed on this earth millions of years ago. There is no doubt that human beings and apes share a lot regarding their genetic make-up. Despite this close relationship, never did Darwin’s evolution theory state that humans originated from monkeys.
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The second misconception about the evolution theory is that evolution cannot explain the formation of complex organisms. It is indisputable that the various life forms have complex organ systems. These systems are highly specialized to perform specific tasks which require a great deal of accuracy. Many people have used logic to discredit the possibilities of these organs getting formed as a matter of chance. Nevertheless, scientists have been able to clear up this misconception by making discoveries about primitive organs such those that are sensitive to light (Molluscs, 2017). To this end, they have proved the possibility of complex organs to form from simple cells.
The other misconception is that evolution theory is just a theory without any facts. Many people think that theories are just guesswork which cannot tell us anything useful about the past (Alters & Nelson, 2002). Additionally, it is widely believed that evolution theory is under sharp criticism from some scientists. However, it is critical to note that the evolution theory is based on proven facts that have stood the test of time. The issue of evolution theory getting criticism is also not true because scientists agree on the occurrence of evolution. However, what they have not agreed on is how it took place.
Personally, I still feel that there are questions about evolution which have not been answered. For example, if indeed evolution did happen, why is it that more evolution is not being witnessed in the world today? If indeed it happened, then we should be seeing more significant evolutions happening in the world. However, many years have passed without noticing any significant developments taking place.
Ultimately, despite facing criticism from various circles, the evolution theory has been widely accepted. In fact, many countries across the world have incorporated it into their curriculum. Students are taught how various species have managed to stand harsh conditions and consequently evolve to more superior organisms. It is also worth pointing out that there have been numerous misconceptions as mentioned in the paper. However, most of them have been discredited as baseless. Therefore, evolution theory as it is will remain to give a glimpse of how various species have undergone tremendous changes to better adapt to the environment.
References
Alters, B. J., & Nelson, C. E. (2002). Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education. Evolution , 56 (10), 1891-1901.
Molluscs (Mollusca). (2017). Molluscs.at. Retrieved 18 from http://www.molluscs.at/mollusca/index.html?/mollusca/eyes.html
West, S. A., El Mouden, C., & Gardner, A. (2011). Sixteen common misconceptions about the evolution of cooperation in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior , 32 (4), 231-262.
