Evolution Debate

          The debate over evolution is divided into two main sides, with detractors of evolutionary theory promoting intelligent design as a counterargument to the Darwinian theory advanced by scientists. Intelligent design is the belief that life, or the universe, did not originate by chance, but rather was designed and created by some intelligent entity, with many of the proponents expressing the belief that the designer is the Christian deity. Intelligent design advocates assert that natural selection could not create the complex biological systems observed in living organisms, because such elaborate and interdependent anatomy must be the deliberate product of an engineer, not random variation and cumulative natural selection as Darwin theorized. In contrast, the biological evolutionary theory describes a gradual change in allele frequency within a population through natural selection and various other mechanisms. In this scientific theory, random mutation results in new variation, the environmental pressures on organisms select for those with the most advantageous traits by allowing them to better survive and reproduce, and this natural selection works alongside other mechanisms to cumulatively cause change in species over time. The key distinction between this and intelligent design is that biological evolution is random and operates blindly, with no foresight or end goal. Meanwhile, intelligent design is entirely based on the idea that an organism’s form follows a deliberate blueprint sketched out by a provident entity who is responsible for the creation of all life.