Re: Death


Mike Dunford wrote:
> Rick Merrill wrote:
> > Seems to me both 'intelligent design' and 'evolution improves' fall
> > short when you consider that all life dies.
> >
> > From the ID point of view, what is the "intent of death"?
> >
> > From the evolutionary point of view, why should old folk die instead of
> > hanging on until a predator "gets 'im?"
>
> Simply put, the process of evolution does not necessarily result in the
> best possible outcome. _Any_ outcome that works well enough to increase
> the chances for the next generation is good enough. Thus far, old-age
> and natural mortality has been good enough. Immortality might be
> better, but nothing says that evolution is going to ever result in
> perfection. It's also possible that any biological adaptations required
> to produce natural immortality might come at too high a price to be
> evolutionarily advantageous.
>
> --Mike Dunford

>>From a population genetics point of view immortality is not optimal in
a changing environment. If organisms were immortal the best genotypes
would take over the population and genetic variation would go to
mutation frequency of any progeny that were produced. Any new progeny
would just compete for available resources. The population could not
adapt to changing environmental conditions as well as a population that
turned over at regular intervals and relied on over production of
progeny to maintain their numbers. It is a sure bet that the
environment has not been stable over the timespan of biological
evolution. Populations have to compete in this reality.

This could be why we have mechanisms to limit the lifespan of
organisms. Why does your telomerase shut down in most of your somatic
cells? Why don't humans or other animals maintain the metabolism of a
teenager?

About death, think about this for a momment; has the first prokaryote
ever died? When the cell divides which one is the parent and which one
is the daughter. You can claim that the original prokaryote is still
alive. If it had ever died there would be no prokaryotes left, they
would all be extinct.

Ron Okimoto

.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: Death
    ... > Seems to me both 'intelligent design' and 'evolution improves' fall ... > short when you consider that all life dies. ... answer <wink wink> ...
    (talk.origins)