Natural Selection Doesn't Produce Evolution!

By Babu G. Ranganathan

Thanks to Richard Dawkins, many have confused natural selection with evolution itself. Yes, Charles Darwin did show that natural selection occurs in nature, but what many don't understand is that natural selection itself does not produce biological parts, traits, or variations.

Natural selection can only "select" from biological variations that are produced and which have survival value. The real issue is what biological variations are naturally possible? When a biological change or variation occurs within a species and this new variation (such as a change in skin color, etc.) helps that species to survive in its environment then that variation will be preserved ("selected") and be passed on to offspring. That is called "natural selection" or "survival of the fittest". But, neither "natural selection" nor "survival of the fittest" has anything to do with producing biological traits and variations.

The term "natural selection" is simply a figure of speech. Nature, of course, does not do any active or conscious selecting. It is an entirely passive process. Darwin did not realize what produced biological variations. Darwin simply assumed that any kind of biological change or variation was possible in life. However, we now know that biological traits and variations are determined by the genetic code.

Natural selection works with evolution but it is not evolution itself. Again, since natural selection can only "select" from biological variations that are possible, the real question to be asking is what kind of biological variations are naturally possible. How much biological variation (or how much evolution) is naturally possible in Nature?

The evidence from science shows that only micro-evolution (variations within a biological "kind" such as the varieties of dogs, cats, horses, cows, etc.) is possible but not macro-evolution (variations across biological "kinds", especially from simpler kinds to more complex ones). The only evolution that occurs in nature is micro-evolution (or horizontal evolution) but not macro-evolution (or vertical evolution).

The genetic ability for micro-evolution exists in nature but not the genetic ability for macro-evolution. The genes (chemical and genetic instructions or programs) for micro-evolution exist in every species but not the genes for macro-evolution. Unless Nature has the intelligence and ability to perform genetic engineering (to construct entirely new genes and not just to produce variations and new combinations of already existing genes) then macro-evolution will never be possible in nature.

We have varieties of dogs today that we didn't have a couple of hundred years ago. The genes for these varieties had always existed in the population of the dog species but they simply never had an opportunity for expression until right the conditions came along. The genes themselves didn't evolve! What we call "evolution" is really nothing more than the physical expression of already existing genes.

All of this is just another example of micro-evolution (horizontal evolution) in nature. No matter how many varieties of dogs come into being they will always remain dogs and not change or evolve into some other kind of animal. Even the formation of an entirely new species of plant or animal from hybridization will not support Darwinian evolution since such hybridization does not involve any production of new genetic information but merely the recombination of already existing genes.

Modifications and new combinations of already existing genes for already existing traits have been shown to occur in nature but never the production of entirely new genes for entirely new traits. This is true even with genetic mutations. For example, mutations in the genes for human hair may change the genes so that another type of human hair develops, but the mutations won't change the genes for human hair so that feathers, wings, or entirely new traits develop. Mutations may even cause duplication of already existing traits (i.e. an extra finger, toe, etc. even in another part of the body!), but none of these things qualify as new traits.

Evolutionists believe that, if given enough time, random or chance mutations in the genetic code caused by random environmental forces such as radiation will produce entirely new genes for entirely new traits which natural selection can act upon or preserve.

However, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that random mutations have the ability to generate entirely new genes which would program for the development of entirely new traits in species. It would require genetic engineering to accomplish such a feat. Random genetic mutations caused by the environment will never qualify as genetic engineering!

Mutations are accidents in the sequential molecular structure of the genetic code and they are almost always harmful, as would be expected from accidents. Of course, just like some earthquakes that don't do any damage to buildings, there are also mutations that don't do any biological harm. But, even if a good mutation does occur for every good mutation there will be hundreds of harmful ones with thenet result over time being disastrous for the species.