Talk:Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed/Darwin and Hitler

Darwin and Hitler

A major segment that appears in the film ("... a solid 20 minutes of its running time ...") tries to make the point that Hitler used Evolution as the basis for the Holocaust. However, even if this was true, then Hitler would have misunderstood the Theory of Evolution in at least five ways:

1. The idea that "more evolved" means superior. This phrase is actually rarely used in proper biology as it is very dependent on local environmental conditions, as, really, what this would mean is that a particular species or subspecies is better adapted to those conditions than whatever it is being compared with. If those conditions change, the species or subspecies that was "more evolved" could very well suddenly find itself unsuited to the new conditions. For example, underwater, a jellyfish is actually "more evolved" than a human, as, apart from anything else, the human is unable to breathe without artificial aid. Bring both on land, however, and it is the human that becomes the "more evolved" creature.
2. The idea that "racial purity" advances evolution. It is, in fact, more or less the exact opposite - the more genetic diversity is increased, by genetic material being added to a given population either through mutation or racial mixing, the more likely there will be an advantageous genetic feature. In evolutionary biology, this is actually known as gene flow.
3. The idea that Aryans are more evolved. In fact, there is no clear evidence there is, or was, such an "Aryan race" (or, at least, the idea of the Aryan race Hitler had). Indeed, it is thought that the origins of the word are from the Sanskrit word आर्य or "Ārya", which has a wide variety of uses, depending on context, but usually means something like "noble", "honorable", "kind", "devoted", or "favorable", and the original use of the word "Aryan" was simply used to describe the whole of the Indo-European speaking peoples. As such, it would be very difficult to entertain the notion that this race was more evolved.
4. That any person or group could be a "natural selector". Indeed, the very part of the Theory of Evolution that leads to so much conflict with certain religious groups is that there is no consciousness guiding evolution - it is an entirely natural process.
5. That the Nazis actually had to do anything. Even if the idea that the "Aryan race" was more evolved, and somehow superior, was actually correct, the Theory of Evolution states that the "Aryan race" would, in fact, naturally replace the "less evolved" races without any dedicated effort to make this happen, such as what was attempted in the Holocaust.

As such, it seems to be a case of the argument from adverse consequences fallacy, even if you accept the film's argument that the Holocaust was based on evolution - because some people misunderstood evolution and committed terrible acts based on that misunderstanding, evolution is bad.

Proper location, please?

Where is this supposed to go? It clearly isn't being used as a talk page. Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 21:16, 12 March 2009 (EDT)

It's an odd place for it, but this was a sandbox version that became this section of the article. ħuman 21:55, 12 March 2009 (EDT)

Ah, I see. Seems a shame to leave this orphaned with no way to ever find it, but it seems it can't be helped. Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 00:12, 13 March 2009 (EDT)

It could be linked from the Expelled talk page? Just to "de-orphan" it permanently? ħuman 00:22, 13 March 2009 (EDT)

Good idea! I'll do just that. Radioactive afikomen ^{Please ignore all my awful pre-2014 comments.} 00:30, 13 March 2009 (EDT)