HOW THINGS BEGAN

New Zealand Listener, Volume 22, Issue 557, 24 February 1950, Page 5

HOW THINGS BEGAN

Sir-The discussion evoked by Father Duggan’s book would be clarified if he would define his position with regard to the following propositions, now accepted by the, vast majority of scientists. all over the world: (1) The age of the earth is at least 2000 million years, and probably-much more. (2) Life has existed on the earth for many hundreds of millions of years, as is demonstrated by the geological records of the fossil-bearing strata. (3) In those strata the complexity of life-forms increases steadily from the lowest or oldest strata to the highest\or most recent. These propositions are the basis of all teaching in ‘geology and biology in the great universities of the world, and the last is the completely unshaken basis of the theory of evolution, @egarded by all great authorities_as amply demonstrated. These ‘three propositions are constantly obscured or denied by antievolutionists of the fundamentalist type, but no scientist of repute would waste his time by discussing evolution with anyone who refused to accept them. Where does Father Duggan stand with regard to them? The immense significance of proposition (3) should be carefully noted by those unfamiliar with the facts. The highest, i.e., the most recent, strata show abundant remains of the higher vertebrates and primates; but there are no higher mammals in the chalk strata or below them; "there are no mammals, reptiles or birds below the coal-bearing strata; no vertebrates at all in the lower strata. With regard*to Father Duggan’s demands for "transitional forms," the whole process of geological and palaeontological research during the last 90 years has demonstrated thousands of transitional forms from the earliest ages to the present. So far from being a "riddle," the "record of the rocks" shows a clear and coherent picture of the development of life on this planet. I challenge Father Duggan to deny that all the great authorities of the world in geology, palaeontology and biology are perfectly convinced of the truth of evolution, afd see no reason whatever to invoke the help of creative acts at widely different périods of the earth’s long history. The expedient is indeed remarkably naive. Father Duggan has strangely

ignored the Law of Parsimony, often called "Occam’s razor"-"Causes are not to be multiplied unnecessarily."

READER

(Henderson),