Darwin’s Dilemma in Darwin’s own words:
On the sudden Appearance of Groups of allied Species in the lowest known Fossiliferous Strata.
There is another and allied difficulty, which is much more serious. I allude to the manner in which many species in several of the main divisions of the animal kingdom suddenly appear in the lowest known fossiliferous rocks. Most of the arguments which have convinced me that all the existing species of the same group are descended from a single progenitor, apply with nearly equal force to the earliest known species. For instance, it cannot be doubted that all the Silurian trilobites are descended from some one crustacean, which must have lived long before the Silurian age, and which probably differed greatly from any known animal. Some of the most ancient Silurian animals, as the Nautilus, Lingula, &c., do not differ much from living species; and it cannot on our theory be supposed, that these old species were the progenitors of all the species belonging to the same groups which have subsequently appeared, for they are not in any degree intermediate in character.
Consequently, if the theory be true, it is indisputable that, before the lowest Silurian or Cambrian stratum was deposited long periods elapsed, as long as, or probably far longer than, the whole interval from the Cambrian age to the present day; and that during these vast periods the world swarmed with living creatures…
To the question why we do not find rich fossiliferous deposits belonging to these assumed earliest periods, I can give no satisfactory answer… the difficulty of assigning any good reason for the absence beneath the Upper Cambrian formations of vast piles of strata rich in fossils is very great. It does not seem probable that the most ancient beds have been quite worn away by denudation, or that their fossils have been wholly obliterated by metamorphic action, for if this had been the case we should have found only small remnants of the formations next succeeding them in age, and these would always have existed in a partially metamorphosed condition. But the descriptions which we possess of the Silurian deposits over immense territories in Russia and in North America, do not support the view, that the older a formation is, the more it has invariably suffered extreme denudation and metamorphism.
The case at present must remain inexplicable; and may be truly urged as a valid argument against the views here entertained. [emphasis added]
—Chapter IX, “On the Imperfection of the Geological Record,” On the Origin of Species, fifth edition (1869), pp. 378-381.
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PARA SABER MAIS SOBRE A EXPLOSÃO CAMBRIANA QUE NOSSOS AUTORES DE LIVROS DIDÁTICOS NÃO OUSAM ABORDAR:
“The Scientific Controversy over the Cambrian Explosion” (Briefing Paper)
Casey Luskin, “BioEssays Article Admits ‘Materialistic Basis of the Cambrian Explosion’ is ‘Elusive,’” Evolution News and Views (June 24, 2009)
Casey Luskin, “Trails of Microorganisms Discovered on Ocean-Bottom Knock Down Favorite Darwinist Argument Against Cambrian Explosion,” Evolution News and Views (Dec. 14, 2008)
Stephen Meyer, “The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories,”Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (2004). For detailed information on the controversy that followed the publication of this peer-reviewed technical paper, visit the Smithsonian Controversy web page.
Stephen Meyer, Marcus Ross, Paul Nelson & Paul Chien, “The Cambrian Explosion: Biology’s Big Bang,” Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (Michigan State University Press, 2004)
On the Origin of Phyla: An Interview with James Valentine
Simon Conway Morris, “Darwin’s dilemma: the realities of the Cambrian ‘explosion,’”Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (2006)
The Cambrian Explosion (Virtual Fossil Museum)
“Evolution’s Big Bang,” Time magazine cover story on the Cambrian Explosion (Dec. 4, 1995)
Resources on the Fossils of the Burgess Shale
“The Burgess Shale: Evolution’s Big Bang” Online Exhibit
The Burgess Shale (Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History)
Charles Walcott and the Burgess Shale
The Panoramic Photographs of Charles D. Walcott
Resources on the Fossils of Chengjiang, China
Chengjiang China Fossils—“A Window to the Cambrian Explosion” (Virtual Fossil Museum)
Fred Heeren, “Challenging Fossil of a Little Fish,” The Boston Globe (May 30, 2000)
Fred Heeren, “Paleontologic Agitprop?” Insight on the News (July 24, 2000)
Investigating Evolution: The Cambrian Explosion, pt. 1
Investigating Evolution: The Cambrian Explosion, pt. 2
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PARA SABER MAIS SOBRE A EXPLOSÃO CAMBRIANA QUE NOSSOS AUTORES DE LIVROS DIDÁTICOS NÃO OUSAM ABORDAR:
“The Scientific Controversy over the Cambrian Explosion” (Briefing Paper)
Casey Luskin, “BioEssays Article Admits ‘Materialistic Basis of the Cambrian Explosion’ is ‘Elusive,’” Evolution News and Views (June 24, 2009)
Casey Luskin, “Trails of Microorganisms Discovered on Ocean-Bottom Knock Down Favorite Darwinist Argument Against Cambrian Explosion,” Evolution News and Views (Dec. 14, 2008)
Stephen Meyer, “The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories,”Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (2004). For detailed information on the controversy that followed the publication of this peer-reviewed technical paper, visit the Smithsonian Controversy web page.
Stephen Meyer, Marcus Ross, Paul Nelson & Paul Chien, “The Cambrian Explosion: Biology’s Big Bang,” Darwinism, Design, and Public Education (Michigan State University Press, 2004)
On the Origin of Phyla: An Interview with James Valentine
Simon Conway Morris, “Darwin’s dilemma: the realities of the Cambrian ‘explosion,’”Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (2006)
The Cambrian Explosion (Virtual Fossil Museum)
“Evolution’s Big Bang,” Time magazine cover story on the Cambrian Explosion (Dec. 4, 1995)
Resources on the Fossils of the Burgess Shale
“The Burgess Shale: Evolution’s Big Bang” Online Exhibit
The Burgess Shale (Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History)
Charles Walcott and the Burgess Shale
The Panoramic Photographs of Charles D. Walcott
Resources on the Fossils of Chengjiang, China
Chengjiang China Fossils—“A Window to the Cambrian Explosion” (Virtual Fossil Museum)
Fred Heeren, “Challenging Fossil of a Little Fish,” The Boston Globe (May 30, 2000)
Fred Heeren, “Paleontologic Agitprop?” Insight on the News (July 24, 2000)
Investigating Evolution: The Cambrian Explosion, pt. 1
Investigating Evolution: The Cambrian Explosion, pt. 2
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NOTA DESTE BLOGGER:
Pobre Darwin, suas expectativas com o avanço da paleontologia não resolveram o seu dilema: 150 anos depois, o registro fóssil, nada imperfeito como alegado por ele, teima em dizer não às especulações transformistas do homem que teve a maior ideia que toda a humanidade já teve.
E os nossos alunos do ensino médio são engabelados há muito tempo sobre esta e outras questões fundamentais da teoria da evolução no contexto de justificação teórica. Este 171 epistêmico, durma com um barulho desses, tem o aval do MEC/SEMTEC/PNLEM.
Fui, nem sei por que, pensando que os discípulos de Darwin pós-modernos estão no maior dilema, sinuca de bico, situação Catch-22: como tapar o Sol de evidências contrárias com uma peneira epistêmica furada???
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Corruptio optimi pessima est [A corrupção dos melhores é a pior que existe].
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