EVOLUTION

MANY INTELLECTUAL THREADS LED TO THE MODERN THEORY OF EVOLUTION, WHICH REQUIRES RECOGNITION THAT THE EARTH IS ANCIENT, THAT THERE IS A COMON INHERITANCE WITHIN A BIOLOGICACAL GROUP, AND THAT NATURAL EVENTS CAN BE EXPLAINED BY DISCOVERABLE NATURAL LAWS. BUT IT TOOK A LONG TIME BEFORE THSES THREADS WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER INTO AN EVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT.
PLATO'S IDEALISTIC CONCEPTS, ACCORDING TO WHICH ALL NATURAL PHENOMENA ARE IMPERFECT REPRESENTATIONS OF THE TRUE ESSENCE OF AN IDEAL UNSEEN WORLDL, WAS A LONG PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY IN WESTERN EUROPE THAT PROFOUNDLY INHIBITED THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS. BECAUSE THE WORLD OF ESSENCEES IS PERFECT, ALL CHANGE IS ILLUSORY. FOLLOWI...