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Biology: is Darwin’s theory of evolution wrong?
Biology: is Darwin’s theory of evolution wrong?
(franceinfo)
In “The Survival of the Mediocre”, the philosopher Daniel S. Milo questions the concept developed by Charles Darwin and assures that only 10% of species owe their survival to the theory of evolution. True or false ?
Could the famous naturalist Charles Darwin have been wrong about his famous theory of evolution? This question has been making the rounds in the media in recent weeks. The release of the book Survival of the mediocre is at the origin of this questioning. This philosophical essay presents itself as a criticism of Darwinism, and in particular of the principle of natural selection, a scientific concept theorized by Charles Darwin in 1859. According to this theory, the most adapted and best endowed species are the most able to survive and therefore reproduce.
The author claims that this principle could lead to competition which would then influence capitalism, while natural selection would only apply in a few cases. “Darwin was often right, but he was also often wrong. The theory of natural selection is very useless and even wrong in explaining a lot of natural phenomena”, assures philosopher Daniel S. Milo. According to him, only 10% of species owe their survival to the theory of evolution. The survival of others would therefore depend on luck. The philosopher therefore prefers to speak of the theory of the mediocre or the sufficiently good, like the giraffe, which would be the animal most poorly prepared for survival.
A scientific basis
Can this example call into question the theory of the evolution of species, a 200-year-old theory that revolutionized biology? “In reality, the modern theory of evolution, through natural selection, takes care of the superfluous. Things can be maintained even though they are no longer useful”, explains Guillaume Lecointre, zoologist and professor at the National Museum of Natural History. According to this evolution specialist, Darwin would certainly have agreed with Daniel S. Milo, without a new theory being invented.
Criticisms are often expressed to call into question Darwin’s work and our certainties about evolution. But his theory, and in particular the principle of natural selection, remains one of the most solid scientific foundations for explaining the biological world.
