Peak of the improbable
The summit of the improbable: Wunder der Evolution is a popular scientific non-fiction book by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins published in German by Rowohlt Verlag in 1999 . It was published in the English original under the title Climbing Mount Improbable in 1996 by Viking, Penguin Group , London . In his work, Dawkins examines the role of chance and natural selection in the development of life .
content
According to Dawkins, the flying squirrels provide one possible answer to this question often asked by creationists .
estimated that eyes developed independently at least forty times in different groups of the animal kingdom.
Chapter 1–2
Biological forms are not designed on purpose, nor are they created by pure chance. They are the result of natural selection. Dawkins shows which factors could have contributed to the development of the intricate construction of a spider web .
Chapter 3
In order to make it easier to understand that the theory of evolution is not a theory of chance , Dawkins introduces the parable of the mountains of improbability . In these mountains, a greater height corresponds to an increasing complexity . Today's observer, who looks at the diversity of life, stands at the foot of a huge steep slope and cannot imagine how the species could reach the peak of the highest complexity without an intelligent designer . His superficial glance misses the fact that the opposite side of the mountain is not steep, but rather has a sharply flattened rise. The development of the species corresponds to the rise in the improbability mountains. Only the mutations are random, but the non-random selection ensures a continuous gain in height.
Chapter 4
The main focus of this chapter is on the evolution of flight in insects , mammals and birds . The latter could have emerged from dinosaurs that jumped after their prey over increasingly long distances.
Chapter 5
This is about the evolution of the eye . Even if not all transitional forms can be detected in the form of fossils , living species today give an idea of the different stages of development of vision. The spectrum ranges from photoreceptors in single cells to highly complex vertebrate eyes .
Chapter 6
For Dawkins, selection is the driving force of evolution. Using the example of snail shells , he demonstrates that not all mathematically possible forms actually exist in nature. Some experts believe that not all of these forms are produced by mutation. However, Dawkins is more inclined to believe that these forms are not beneficial and are therefore selected out.
Chapter 7
A symmetrical and segmented embryonic development has an accelerating influence on evolution. Mutations affect not just one, but several parts of the organism at the same time.
Chapters 8–9
According to Dawkins, living things are only used to replicate their DNA . This instruction, which is laid down in the genes, is only there because the living beings would otherwise not survive the selection and consequently would not exist. The organisms are like Von Neumann probes , like robots of any complexity that make copies of themselves.
Chapter 10
In the final section, Dawkins describes the intricate symbiosis of figs and fig wasps . For him it is a particularly high peak in the improbability mountains - but not unreachably high:
“Even the most difficult problems can be solved, and the steepest heights can be climbed if you can only find a slow, gradual, step-by-step path. The improbability mountains are not to be attacked. You don't always have to climb it slowly, but always gradually. "
Reviews
“Can Dawkins book change minds among creationists and hostile physicists? I doubt it. Even Darwin's The Origin of Species was intended for the public, not only for his colleagues, and Darwin wrote significantly. But in reaching a broader audience, Dawkins could help dispel ignorant criticism of evolution from open-minded readers. If so, the book will be useful to science and society. "
“Evolution through natural selection is without question an integral part of modern science, as is continental drift in geology. It is the explanatory foundation for an entire area. But Dawkins also believes that all questions about life have one answer: natural selection. Such fundamentalist beliefs simplify the biological world and obscure important questions about the driving forces of evolution. "
book
- Richard Dawkins: Summit of the Improbable: Miracles of Evolution , Translated from the English by Sebastian Vogel , Rowohlt 1999, ISBN 3498013076
Individual evidence
- ↑ Richard Dawkins: Summit of the improbable: Wunder der Evolution , Rowohlt Verlag 2008, p. 352.
- ↑ Valerius Geist: The Origin of Eyes. In: nytimes.com. September 29, 1996, accessed May 2, 2015 .
- ^ Robert C. Berwick: Feeling for the Organism ( Memento of March 2, 2004 in the Internet Archive )