PHLA10H3 : Review #5
Document Summary
The idea of perfect and imperfect adaptation has to do with evidence that shows whether or not life is related. Principle of common cause states the belief that all living things on earth have common ancestors. Imperfect adaptation is the fact that organisms are not perfectly adapted to their environments. To decide between the two theories, ockhan"s razor, the principle of parsimony, is used. By simplest, it means to have the fewest ontological commitments. Organisms are suited in a makeshift way in order to avoid extinction for the short run. Vestigial organs are evidence that various species have common ancestry. On the other hand, perfect adaptation provides weaker evidence that all living creatures have a common ancestor. The difference between local and global questions is that global questions do no seem to have any underlying structure, which could explain them, whereas local questions are answerable why-questions with a focus on what has happened in history.
