>From Paul Smith:
>RICHARD PISACRETA wrote:
>
>> I must have missed something. Evolution within a species is a
>>fact. Evolution between species is a theory. I have seen no
>>definitive proof of one species through intermediate steps
>>becoming a new species.
>
>
> Again, evolution within a species is the same thing as
>evolution between species.
I must admit that I have only paid partial attention to this
thread. Paul's statement caught my eye, however, since I guess I
had also fallen into the trap of believing the two are different.
The basis of my belief comes from my understanding of the term
"species". I had understood it to refer to a group of
individuals who could potentially interbreed and who were
reproductively isolated from other groups. To the extent this
notion is an accurate reflection of the "real world", it would
seem to suggest that variation within a species and variation
among species are two different things. The question then
becomes, have we witnessed the emergence of a new reproductively
isolated group through evolutionary principles? Having witnessed
change/evolution within a species seems to me to be different.
Where am I going wrong?
Buddy Grah
Dep't of Psychology
Austin Peay St. Univ.
Clarksville, TN 37044
