Physicians and Origins
Some are surprised to learn that practicing physicians are involved in the evolution and origins debate. This point becomes pertinent when someone disagrees with a physician researcher. Typically, in lieu of addressing the scientific point being promulgated, he/she will dismiss the research based on the premise that the author is, after all, “only a physician.”
At first glance, this criticism—that a medical doctor does not have the scientific authority to comment on the theory of evolution—seems reasonable; but, in reality, this line of reasoning is weak. Physicians have been responsible for many significant discoveries in this area of science.
Some of the more famous medical doctors and their discoveries include: Dr. Raymond Dart, discoverer of Australopithecus africanus; Dr. Eugene Dubois, discoverer of Homo erectus; Dr. Davidson Black, discoverer of Sinanthropus pekinensis; and Dr. Robert Broom, discoverer of Paranthropus robustus.
One reason physicians have made so many contributions to the science of origins is their training. Most physicians take coursework in anatomy, neuroanatomy, biology, cell biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, embryology, microbiology, statistics, physiology, pathology, and reproductive medicine. All of these courses are also the core studies for the theory of evolution.
Dr. Raymond Dart, 1893-1988
Australian Physician
Discovered Australopithecus africanus
Dr. Robert Broom (left)., 1866-1951
South African Physician
Discovered Paranthropus robustus
Dr. Davidson Black, 1884-1934
Canadian Physician
Discovered Sinanthropus pekinensis
Dr. Eugene Dubois, 1858-1940
Dutch Physician
Discovered Homo erectus
First Major Theory of Origins Overturned by a Physician
An interesting fact is that physicians were instrumental in overturning the first two major natural theories of origins (origin theories that do not resort to a creator).
Spontaneous generation was the first natural theory and was accepted by the majority of secular scientists from the time of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) until the time Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859. Spontaneous generation suggested that mice spontaneously came from dirty underwear, that maggots spontaneously came from rotting meat, and that bacteria spontaneously arose from sterile water. Eventually, two men, separated by more than 150 years, disproved spontaneous generation. Dr. Francesco Redi, a practicing Italian physician, and Dr. Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, designed and carried out two famous experiments credited with overturning spontaneous generation. (See video below.)
Dr. Francesco Redi, 1626-1697
Italian Physician
Second Major Theory Overturned by a Physician
Dr. August Weismann, 1834-1914
German Medical Doctor
The second major theory of origins was Darwin’s theory of evolution. According to Darwin’s writings, one type of animal changed into a completely different type of animal, in part, because of the law of use and disuse. For example, Darwin believed if a horse was exercised and developed large muscles (use of a body part), the offspring of the horse would be born with large muscles, which, of course, is not true. Darwin wrote, “I think that there can be little doubt that use in our domestic animals strengthens and enlarges certain parts, and disuse diminishes them; and that such modifications are inherited.”
Darwin also believed that if an animal lived underground in darkness and did not use its eyes (disuse of a body part), eventually the animal would shed these unused body parts in subsequent generations. This, of course, is not true either. Darwin wrote, “The eyes of moles and of some burrowing rodents are rudimentary in size, and in some cases are quite covered by skin and fur. This state of the eyes is probably due to gradual reduction from disuse, but aided perhaps by natural selection.” (The Origin of Species, 1860, Chapter V, Laws of Variation, Subsection 1 The Effects of Use and Disuse.)
Throughout his lifetime, Darwin wrote extensively about use and disuse as a mechanism for evolution both in his letters and in his two books. He considered this law (also called the law of acquired characters or Lamarckism) to be a major mechanism for his theory. Although the law of use and disuse had been believed for over 2,000 years, it was overturned by a medical doctor named Dr. August Weismann. With his famous tail-cutting experiment, Dr. Weismann gutted Darwin’s theory shortly after Darwin died. The theory was left without a plausible mechanism for how animals could change. (Natural selection can only remove existing traits, not add them.) Watch video now (left).
Prominent Evolution Scientists Without Science Degrees
Charles Darwin, 1809-1882
Wrote theory of evolution
It is also interesting to note that some prominent scientists working in the field of evolution never even obtained a science degree. Charles Darwin, for example, attempted medical school but dropped out after two years. Later, he went to Christ’s College in Cambridge and studied theology.
Charles Darwin’s BookThe Origin of Species
Arthur Woodward, 1864-1944
Director Geology
Natural History Museum London
The Director of Geology at the Natural History Museum London (Arthur Woodward) did not have a science degree either. He held this prominent post at the top British museum. He also authored many books about evolution.
Natural History Museum London
Arthur Woodward was the
Director of Geology
The Director of the Natural Science Museum in Buenos Aires (Florentino Ameghino) also did not have a science degree. In fact, he was a high school drop out. He wrote many books on evolution and named many new types of animals.
Florentino Ameghino, 1854-1911
Director
Natural History Museum Buenos Aires
Professor of Geology at The National University
of La Plata and Professor of Zoology at the University
of Córdoba in Argentina
Natural Sciences Museum Buenos Aires
Florentino Ameghino was the
Director of this Museum
It should be noted that all three of these researchers without science degrees, Charles Darwin, Arthur Woodward and Florentino Ameghino, made significant mistakes in their fields: Darwin’s and his belief in the law of use and disuse, Woodward and his ape-man Eoanthropus dawsoni, which turned out to be a fake, and Ameghino’s ape man discovery of Tetraprothomo argentinus, which was created from a modern human neck bone and the leg bone from the raccoon family.
Prominent Evolution Scientists Working Outside of Their Field
Dr. Phil Gingerich
Geologist
University of Michigan
No single scientist is proficient in all areas of science. Experts in biology, zoology, paleontology, geology, anatomy, anthropology, paleoanthropology, dentistry, and medicine work in the field of evolution and comment on the entire theory, not just the areas in which they are formally trained. For example, the world’s leading authority on whale evolution (Dr. Phil Gingerich, left) has his training in geology (the study of rocks and sediment layers), not zoology, paleontology, or whales and teaches primate evolution at the University of Michigan. Similarly, one of the world’s leading authorities on dinosaur evolution (Dr. David Weishampel, right) also has his degree in geology, not paleontology, and teaches anatomy at a medical school. The practice of working outside the area in which a scientist is formally trained is very common in the field of evolution science.
Dr. David Weishampel
Geologist
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Summary
Based on historical evidence, false theories may have persisted for longer than necessary if physicians had been excluded from the origins debate. A physician working in this field is equivalent to a scientist working in this field. For that reason, physicians (both pro-evolution and anti-evolution) have a relevant place in today’s discussion regarding the latest natural theory of origins, called neo-Darwinian evolution.
Dr. Carl Werner is an American physician.