Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site unc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!akgua!mcnc!unc!bch From: bch@unc.UUCP (Byron Howes ) Newsgroups: net.misc Subject: Re: Abiogenesis Message-ID: <6713@unc.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-Feb-84 08:51:47 EST Article-I.D.: unc.6713 Posted: Tue Feb 7 08:51:47 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 10-Feb-84 00:55:43 EST References: <1657@cbscc.UUCP> Organization: University of North Carolina Comp. Center Lines: 26 In response to my comment that abiogenesis is not central to evolutionary theory, Paul Dubuc writes: Where do you get species without life in the first place? It seems that there must be *some* theory of life's origin that is inherent to evolutionary theory. Don't tell me this question is irrelevant. I don't believe that. If not abiogenesis, what then? There *are* other theories of the origin of life on earth which range from the reasonable to the ridiculous. Meteoric contamination is one possi- bility which certainly can't be overlooked. Certainly the notion of some form of "compact intervention" is not incompatible with evolutionary theory either, though that form would be incompatible with the Genesis accounts of creation. There are also those who think life was beamed here by intelligences on some other planet (obviously most people don't take this seriously.) While most evolutionary theorists may *also* subscribe to some theory of abiogenesis, the two are not necessarily linked. Abiogenesis deals with the emergence of life from non-life. Evolutionary theory deals with the problem of given a relative uniformity of life, how do we get speciation. -- Byron Howes UNC - Chapel Hill (decvax!mcnc!unc!bch)