Week 13, Chapter 10 -- Digging Deeper Sample Answer Course home | Weekly schedule | Announcements | Instructor Info | Desire2Learn | MasteringBiology® | Honor Code | FAQs | HELP!

Sample of Two Events

[Remember, this assignment requires 10 like this, with at least two taken from each category of topics. The assignment also requires a self-reflection paragraph, for which there is no sample below.]

1. Linnaeus (c. 1735)
Topics: Rise of Evolution; Reconciliation

Summary: Linnaeus was a botanist who attempted to classify all life on earth. Many elements of his classification system are still in use today. Although his system did not imply that different species are related, it nevertheless greatly influenced Charles Darwin.
Significance: Although Linnaeus predated the theory of evolution by more than a century, the Linnaean system of classification was an important influence on Charles Darwin, the first person to develop the idea that all life is related to a common ancestor.

2. Natural Theology (1802)
Topic: Evolution Challenged

Summary: Natural theology is the idea that the intricate forms of nature reflect God’s hand. Specifically, natural theologians claim that some biological structures are so complex that they cannot have originated by natural processes.
Significance: Darwin read about natural theology decades before publishing On the Origin of Species. He may have been influenced by it. But to me, a more interesting observation is the similarity between natural theology and an idea called “intelligent design.” Even today, some people say that intelligent design should be taught as an alternative to evolution in science classes, even though intelligent design is not scientifically testable.

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[Andie Nix wrote this sample assignment]

Contemporary Issues in Biology -- BIOL 1003 Mariëlle H. Hoefnagels, Ph.D. © 2004-2015. biology1003 at OU dot edu (at = @, dot =.) Last Updated August 5, 2014 11:02 PM