Maybe they're just not as evolved

[The2ndWheel]

I hear that phrase, or something similar, used quite a bit to describe some person with this thought or that. My question about that phrase would be; is that equating progress and evolution? If it is, why is anyone equating progress and evolution?

[Anakin Skywalker]

1. All I Know Is

that Bush is a chimp. :) A juvenile chimp.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Think about it

According to evolution, organisms have become increasingly more complex and advanced over time, adapting to their environments. Perhaps evolution doesn't HAVE to be progress, but in a lot of cases it is, and you're really just playing a very silly semantics game if you don't agree with this word usage.

[Buck Laser]

3. That's called Social Darwinism

It was a very important part of nineteenth and twentieth century protestant world views. Among other things, it rationalized poverty as a result of bad genes, and gave some impetus to the eugenics movement.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. Social Darwinism is survival of the fittest

That is not at all what I'm talking about.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. I think that's what Nomoremyths is getting at.

Evolution has nothing to do with advancing, or progress.

although I think his/her expectations of DUers are a bit high to have that level of understanding of Evolution across the board. Furthermore, lots of people who do understand it like to joke about it.

[The2ndWheel]

7. What if an organism

while adapting to its environment, doesn't increase in complexity? Is that still evolution? Or does evolution only travel in a straight line in the forward direction?

You throw advanced in there. Advance to what? Is it adapting or advancing?

I don't think I'm playing a silly game. To me, progress and evolution are two different words, with different meanings, and I'm just asking why they seem to be thrown into the mix as the same idea sometimes. If something is more complex, why is that in addition more advanced? Isn't it simply more complex?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. do you get the point when someone uses "evolved" in place of "advanced"?

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume "yes". Therefore, you ARE playing a completely fucking ridiculous semantic game.

[The2ndWheel]

9. I do, that's why I asked

I still don't see what's ridiculous about it though. They don't mean the same thing. However people use advanced and evolved as the same word. Sort of like when people say liberal is the same as Soviet pinko-as-pinko-could-get Communist. I just want to know why people use advanced and evolved as the same idea in their arguments.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. Well, here's what merriam webster has to say

Main Entry: evolve
Pronunciation: i-'välv, -'volv, E- also -'väv or -'vov
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): evolved; evolv·ing
Etymology: Latin evolvere to unroll, from e- + volvere to roll -- more at VOLUBLE
transitive verb
1 : EMIT
2 a : DERIVE, EDUCE b : to produce by natural evolutionary processes c : DEVELOP, WORK OUT <evolve social, political, and literary philosophies -- L. W. Doob>

Sounds a lot like progress to me.

But if you have a problem, perhaps you should take it up with the scientists that coined the term. You see, the word evolution has been around a lot longer than the scientific term bearing the same name.

Case closed.

[Igel]

4. Because they miss that the underlying

themes of evolution is survival of the species. They use abductive reasoning to conclude (always a fallacy) that since evolution can account for complex organisms that producing complexity is the essence of evolutionary theory. Complexity isn't just one possible way to ensure the species' survival, to them.

So that people that have no kids are frequently, in this view, the most evolved.

Sort of turns the idea of evolution on its head, doesn't it?

[TheFriedPiper]

10. It's generally just a joke to make fun of creationists

as in:

"you ever notice that those that don't believe in evolution tend to be the least evolved?"

It's not meant to be taken literally, as evolution is a millions of years enterprise and one lifetime would never produce any evolution.

It's just a way of pointing out the arrested intellectual development of those that don't accept the overwhelming evidence of evolution.

[treestar]

11. Why do you hate free expression?

When people say that kind of thing, they do not mean it literally.

We all know all humans are at the same level of evolution. It's just a creative way of saying you think someone else is stupid. It is also human to be creative with language.