2 The Common Sense of the Evolution Question 



differ as to the assumptions which they make regarding the 

 nature of the world, of Hfe, of the ways in which things come 

 about, and so on. 



As an example of one type of thinking, take the case of 

 one who looks up the origin of the word evolution in the dic- 

 tionary, and finds that it comes from the Latin and means an 

 unfolding, a turning or rolling outward from within. With 

 this definition as a basis, one can construct a great deal of 

 nonsense and show that " evolution " implies many things 

 that we know are not so. We know that a butterfly cannot 

 roll out of a worm, or a frog unfold into a snake! Thus it is 

 easy to " disprove " evolution. 



Or one can find a statement by an acknowledged or an 

 avowed " evolutionist " regarding protective tariff, or capital 

 punishment, or any other subject, and from this we can show 

 that evolution must be wrong because it leads to practical 

 conduct which we and our neighbors disapprove. 



Or we might say, as many do, that any attempt to " ex- 

 plain " our world in a thoroughly rational way leaves out 

 " the necessity for a God." Now, since evolution is a ration- 

 alistic way of looking at things, we can dismiss it in advance 

 as unsound. 



Manifestly a person who is really open-minded cannot 

 be satisfied with conclusions obtained in any of these ways. 

 These are but different ways of using our previous conclu- 

 sions to block the way to new ideas. We ought to ask rather, 

 — What does evolution mean to those who consider them- 

 selves evolutionists? What are the facts that make the idea 

 acceptable to so many people who are not obviously stupid, 

 or insane, or perverse? What does it imply in a practical way 

 in the management of our daily affairs? 



A Historical Process 



It may be well to stop for a moment to ask just what 

 evolution means, at least to the scientist. 



First and fundamentally, evolution is the name we give 



