Teleology & evolution: Vocal cord development (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, December 15, 2016, 20:35 (2695 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Their ability to speak as we do is theoretical. Mc Crone talks about tongue muscle control, lip control, clipped breath control as issues to be handled. Monkeys could learn all of that as muscles are trained, if they had the brains. Muscle controls must be developed.

dhw: Agreed. The case made by the new research is that monkeys can’t speak like us because they don’t have the brains, not because they don’t have the vocal apparatus. But it doesn’t really make any difference to our disagreement. You think your God gave us the apparatus first, just as you think he gave pre-whales their new anatomy before they entered the water. I suggest a natural process the other way round: we and the whales developed new apparatus as a result of new – perhaps self-imposed – needs (to make new sounds, to adopt an aquatic way of life). And both hypotheses are theoretical.

Except, we have fully accepted evidence that anatomic vocal tract bony changes started with or before H. habilis, a couple million years ago. Habilis appeared with the changes. Do you think Australopithecus thought, I need to find a way to communicate better than hand gestures? I still think God makes species, species don't make new ones by themselves.