Is Extinction Really A Big Deal? Evolution Says No.
An exercise in cognitive dissonance
My whole life I have been told that evolution is a surefire thing. No one knows how life began, so it must have started from nothing. Conventional teaching says that everything began in a soupy morass millions of years ago. Out of this soup arose single-celled organisms which, over time, became complex organisms. These complex organisms slowly evolved into more elaborate forms of life. Some of these organisms crawled out of the oceans. Others grew gills and decided to stay behind. Land-dwelling beings turned into birds and insects and reptiles. Each one became what it needed to survive. And if all of that is true, as most people believe, why should we care about extinction?
My local zoo has an enclosure filled with red wolves. The signs around the enclosure tell us about their plight. Red wolves are critically endangered. Soon, there won’t be any left. As I read the signs and looked at the wolves, I had this sense of apathy come over me. Why should I care? Won’t coyotes or grey wolves evolve and repopulate with a new kind of wolf given enough time? There are plenty of canine species roaming around that aren’t extinct. These signs wanted me to care deeply about the red wolf. But should I? Evolution says no. The cold reality of survival of the fittest tells me that these…
