If the wings, talons, and other individual parts of an eagle have a purpose, then the bird itself must have a purpose.
Checkmate.
They have no inherent "purpose"
Claws exist because creatures with the mutation were better at surviving
Evolution has no "goal"
Its purpose is freedom.
/thread.
>>856154
if a human's tail bones, toenails and appendixes have no purpose. then humanity itself has no purpose
Checkmate
>>856154
you are confusing cause and effect
there was no intent, the species evolved to fit into a niche in the ecosystem, kind of like squeezing putti into a mold
>>856175
and as the bible said, we are all clay and god is the sculptor.
It all connects in scripture.
>>856182
A bunch of other myths say that their gods crafted men from dirt
>>856182
>and as the bible said, we are all clay and god is the sculptor.
Ancient Egyptians said it first
>>856196
Didn't they get that from the fact that plants sprouted from silt clods after flooding? They saw that life came from silt clods so they surmised everything came from silt clods. Their pyramids were originally supposed to be divine versions of silt clods from which after-life would sprout from.
>>856167
When Dawkins and his ilk say "Evolution has no goal" - they mean that Evolution is not aiming at any specific form or end game. It is not forward thinking, thus you end up with flightless birds unprepared for apes with muskets.
However, evolution does indeed have a *purpose* - it is a survival mechanism, every bit as much as those claws, save writ large and across life as a whole. Evolution continues so long as the organisms in question using its methodology continue to survive, and ends, when it fails to allow them to adapt.
So please stop using that phrase in this context.
>>856189
sans norse paganism who said gods carved humanity out of ash trees
tfw the guys who believed a snake was eating the roots of the world were the closest to the theory of evolution.
>>856207
Yes, that's the theory, at any rate. Most Egyptian creation myths also begin with a mound of silt rising from the primordial water (Nun), often carrying whichever creator god the myth features. Pyramids were partially considered symbolic of this primordial mound.
>>856182
it wasn't sculpted, the species had tons of random mutations, some mutations made the birds more likely to survive and reproduce, if this happened the mutations spread through the species changing the species into the eagle's current form
>>856220
>However, evolution does indeed have a *purpose* - it is a survival mechanism, every bit as much as those claws, save writ large and across life as a whole. Evolution continues so long as the organisms in question using its methodology continue to survive, and ends, when it fails to allow them to adapt.
No, evolution is the whole process, it's not a survival mechanism or a "methodology". Random shit mutations occur then natural selection (the environment the organisms are contained in) weeds out the unfit, the others reproduce, and it all repeats. Being born with horrible genetic diseases, or just so freaking ugly that you won't find a mate, is part of this process - survival isn't the goal, it's just another possible outcome as much as horrible, senseless death.
The phrase "evolution has no goal" is a very important notion that should get through in every high school biology classroom.
>>856255
First and foremost, the creature was molded by its environment.
...and since the current abiogenesis theories state all life began as lucky RNA embedded in the natural occurring cells that develop in red clay...
>>856271
Evolution is a survival mechanism, as it ends when the creature ceases to survive, and is the method by which a creature adapts to its environment over generations. Further, it only applies to creatures that can pass down survival information, via DNA, RNA, or, more broadly, in some other fashion.
If evolution existed outside of survival, then you might have a point, but it doesn't. Evolution ends when it fails to ensure survival entirely.
Otherwise claws serve no purpose either, and you're going into silly absurdism beyond the silliest of absurdism.
Again, you're taking a common pop-sci catch phrase and misinterpreting it to mean something it isn't intended to.
>>856274
Abiogenesis is neat.
http://exploringorigins.org/
>>856154
Through passage of time, when said purpose can be fulfilled by a means more efficient, then the original doer is made meaningless.
Birds are useless, quand est demonstrandum.
>>856292
'purpose' is anthropomorphic though.
>>856292
Evolution isn't a survival mechanism because it's not inherent to any one organism.
Evolution refers to the process by which life forms change over generations according to ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS.
Claws didn't appear so they'd be used for clawing. They didn't appear because they where useful in context. Animals with claws reproduced because the ability to claw was useful in whatever context they were inserted.
You are getting causality and finality mixed up.
It's not a pop-sci phrase, it's what is taught in college biology classes.
>>856314
Only in the broadest sense. Mechanical purpose is not subject to nihilism. Otherwise one loses the ability to determine means, rather than just sight of the fact that, in the end, there is no meaning.
>>856167
IMPROVE YOUR CONCEPTUALIZATION OF UNION
you're an autismo
>>856220
>evolution is a survival mechanism
>organisms use evolution as a methodology
kill yourself
>>856334
But the mechanical purpose can change, did feathers initially evolve for flight?
>>856326
It's inherent to organisms that pass down information through DNA/RNA and are subject to death before replication. There are thus even a few life forms to which it does not or no longer applies.
It is thus a survival mechanism, generally inherent to most life on Earth. As is reproduction itself.
It does not exist outside of that process.
Your high school teacher may have used that phrase, but that's not what it means. It simply means that evolution has no destiny, no aim, that there are no higher or lower lifeforms, only what works best under those circumstances. It has no thought, no plan, but like reproduction, it has a mechanical purpose: survival. And like reproduction, when it fails to fulfill that purpose, it ends.
>>856169
No the eagle is a cowardly predator who prey on the weak and steals prey from other predator. Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey as a symbol for America because The Turkey is brave and resilient and saved the lives of the first settlers
>>856412
>>856382
You ignore the point that I capitalized. The potential for mutation is inherent to organisms because of faulty transmission. That is not evolution. I wrote "environmental constraints" in all caps, and explained their role in the process that evolution is. How did you manage to miss that?
Am I being baited? I'm calling /sci/.
>>856414
Seagle
>>856420
sea gulls should be renamed Walmart Birds for better accuracy
>>856334
Function =/= purpose
>>856414
>Attacks parachutes and paragliders
Fucking Australia...
>>856505
What a awful and horrifying place. Once all the useful minerals are mined out there everyone on the continent will either evacuate or devolve into spear chucking hunter gatherers.
