Dalton Seat

November 10, 2015

ETLA 201
Dr. Edm

onds

Darwin Game
Darwins theory is a complicated one to understand, but yet this theory of
evolution is a very interesting one that should be looked at for years to come. His
theory is so complex and raises many questions about life on earth. These are
questions that everybody wants answered, and Darwin does this for us with two
different insights. There are inductions he proposes followed with deductions that
question this theory that he has claimed himself. Darwins theory says there are
more children produced than required for their own replacement, yet populations
remain the same. A deduction to this statement is that not all offspring reproduce,
and in fact many fail. Darwin also says that offspring inherit variations of the same
species, but deduction says variations that help the chance of survival and
reproduction will increase. With these claims Darwin has made, there are
weaknesses in his argument that he has specifically pointed out. Lack of transitional
forms, vestigial organs, acquisition of instincts, lack of fossil record, and species vs.
varieties are all examples of question to his theory. Darwin has proposed something
special giving us insight to a question we all want answered, and he should be
awarded the Copely Medal for his great research by the Royal Society.
The Royal Society is made up of highly decorative scientist discussing issues
in the society and proposing resolutions for these issues. They also award the

Copely Medal to the most deserving scientist at the time for whatever research they
may have found. The two declared sides in the Royal Society consist of X-men and
A-men. The X-men are for Darwins theory and would like to see him awarded of this
medal particularly for this specific theory of evolution. The A-men are against this
theory and propose other scientist they feel are way more deserving than Darwin.
The rest of the Royal Society are made up of indeterminates that can be swayed by
either side. My character was the X-men secretary and I was completely for Darwin.
During debate Huxley proposes a resolution on the Efficacy of Prayer after the
astronomer stated he wanted science and religion to go together. I voted for
Huxleys resolution because a scientific analysis would show that prayer has no
effect whatsoever, and we should not compose religiously motivated constraints on
scientific inquiry. Religion is based purely off of speculation, so why would we want
that in our scientific research where we present factual evidence. Darwins theory
completely eliminates any justification for Paleyian Natural Theology making this
embarrassing work of scientist and nothing but religious wishful thinking. Speaking
of religion I proceeded to vote against the proposal for essays and reviews strictly
because I was provided with no evidence from the Chaplain of how religion can play
an import role in our society. I asked to be provided with one fact in the debate on
how these could help our society and I was not given any. This proposal received no
votes even from the A-men side of the council, so how could religion be brought up
as important in this debate. I did agree with the Mill Philosopher in his resolution
that we should use the hypothetical speculation instead of inductive because with a
topic as big as Darwins sometimes thats all we can account for. There will be holes
pop up in any research and we can sit pin-pointing them out all day, but its the
great hypothesis that hasnt been proven wrong is what we go by. With this topic

being a sensitive one with strong personal views there will be questions arise, but
until the speculation is proven wrong how can we criticize it. The inductive method
presented by Philosopher of Science simply cannot work in this theory because it is
just too big to test all parts. We have to have speculation at times in order to make
progress or get answers.
In the social aspect of our discussions in the Royal Society I believe we should
admit qualified candidates regardless of their sex, ethnicity, or religion. I voted for
the counter resolution of the Anthropologist against culturalism and for racialism.
These people should not be discriminated against, and we should reject the racist
doctrines of the Anthropological Society of London. Considering this we should also
let women join in the Royal Society. I voted for the resolution of the Paleontologist to
make this happen because they should be just as deserving as us. It is already been
stated that some our scientist in the society now have been greatly helped by their
wifes to accomplish their research, so who is to say that these women arent
capable. Education is to be given fairly to any women who ask for it to help them
become more suited. Nominations for the most deserving scientist were the last
thing discussed in the Royal Society making emotions high on who should be
victorious. We only had a surprisingly three nominees for the Copely award which
made the voting more interesting. The first nomination was Darwin specifically for
his Theory of Evolution. The second was nomination was Wallace claiming he had
the findings on evolution first, but wasnt recognized for it. Lastly Helmholtz was
nominated for his invention of the telescope that could give us the insight of an eye.
Helmholtz proceeded on to win the medal by two votes which were consisted of
indeterminates leaving Darwin with no reward. This was very heart breaking for all
Darwin supporters because the society wasnt looking at what we were arguing for

in his case. They pointed out that the few holes in Darwins theory left them
questionable making their votes sway away. What they didnt realize was we
werent arguing that he was 100% correct, but rather we stating how great his work
was for finding what he did. His research is historical, and we wanted him to be
awarded for the time he had spent researching this great topic that is so large it
cannot be understood at times. They awarded a man that created something which
there is nothing wrong with, but it doesnt even come close to comparable with
Darwins complex theory. They Society was looking at the wrong details when they
voted, and clearly did not understand the greatness of his works.

Playing in the Royal Society as an X-man was very interesting to me because

it made me get out of my comfort zone. This forced me to play a role that before
the game I didnt agree with, and would been much easier for me to take the side of
the A- man. After receiving our character roles and knowing that I had to be
completely against religion gave me a feeling of discomfort at first. This is all I have
known as a kid growing up in church and hearing only one side of the story my
whole life. I couldnt imagine for the first time in my life trying to persuade the
people around me that religion is not needed in our society. I feel that I would have
excelled more in this game if I was on the opposing team (A-Men) because I would
have got more into speaking on a personal level as well. It would have been easy in
the fact that I already know a great deal about the subject, so I could have vouched
for it much more. It was hard for me at some points in the game to make key
statements about where I stood on the topic as my character because I felt my

personal views trying to override me. I think that this game was challenging for me,
but it was an eye opener at the same time maturing me in this aspect. For the most
part I think I did well understanding my character and staying on the course of their
beliefs throughout the game. My character had no sympathy for religion, and simply
thought that it served no place in the scientific world. I was to make my voting clear
throughout the game that I only looked at science for answers, and that religion was
based on nothing but wishful thinking.
The Darwin game gave me a much clearer insight on the theory of evolution,
and truly answered my questions in order to be well educated on my beliefs. We
learned that theory is not solely on human evolving from monkeys, but more about
the different variations among species. We learned the weaknesses of Darwins
theory that I mentioned earlier in the paper, but we understand with findings this
broad there will be questions. Though there are questions he still proposes a very
strong case for his findings on how species have evolved today. I enjoyed the game
because it questioned me in all areas in my faith because this theory clearly arises
questions of Christianity. I did learn a little about myself during the game because
before I would have said God is the only answer for the creation of species. I would
have stated this purely off of the topic being so complex that it is beyond our
human understanding, and that nothing other than a god could have possibly
created this life. Now that the game has ended I personally feel we can use science
and religion together. I learned that we can indeed explain the different variations of
species by using speculation along with facts. Religion can coincide with this
because not all of the questions can be answered because there are some holes
that lie in this theory that cant be proven. Christianity can be the answer for this
because God is a greater power that we cant even comprehend, so why question

him because he can do ALL things. This gives us reasoning and hope by compiling
the two together. Before I would have said that God is the only answer only because
of my lack of knowledge on the topic. I feel now that I am more educated in this
aspect I can come to senses with myself to figure out what I believe by putting two
and two together.
The Darwin game was a great learning experience helping me reach higher
grounds by questioning my own beliefs. Most of us ignore the questions of our
beliefs because we dont want to face the truth sometimes, but we need to realize
that this can be healthy for us as Christians. Instead of going off of what you have
been told your entire life and just believing it, why not actually find out for yourself?
I felt a sense of guiltiness for questioning my God, but if I didnt know for sure why I
even believed in my God how could I consider myself a true follower. This was
relieving for me in pursuing knowledge in this because our God could never be
upset for proving to ourselves his worthiness.