Is Science Tentative or Settled?

@colewd it depends what you mean by evolution, and I honestly wonder if some of the other responses have overstated the situation somewhat.

There is no significant debate in science right now about common descent of man with the great apes. That is absolutely true. This is settled science right now, and it is notable that none of the creationists groups have engaged with the evidence for human evolution. No real challenge has arisen, and with the rise of genome biology, most the loopholes and circularity in arguments has been removed.

However, there are large debates within evolutionary science right now. Much of it is not settled.

The precise history of large portions of the tree is under constant revision. @jongarvey for example points to the major revision of dinosaur taxonomy. This was a major upheaval and change in our knowledge. That was pretty major, but we are seeing other examples of this all the time.

The precise importance of different mechanisms is subject to a roiling debate now in regards to the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis. What is the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis? I have my opinions about this, but we should be clear that this is a real debate. There are unsettled questions here. Of note, however, the EES is not questioning common descent at all.

Also the value of a “tree” to describe common descent has come under increasing scrutiny. I’ve addressed this before, but there is growing aware ness that common descent does not even predict a tree, as some creationists were smart to realize a long time back (see Walter Remine). The Tangled Tree of Life.

Some of these ongoing debates are merely about emphasis. However, some of them are about deeper questions. That is exactly what we expect in something as complex as biology. There is an immense amount that is unsettled and under constant scrutiny. However, the common descent of man is only growing more certain as we are getting view of more data. That is the key point around which to focus here.

3 Likes