Truth About Human Origins

530 Pages·2000·3.06 MB·English

by  Brad Harrub

Apologetics Press, Inc.
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117-2752
© Copyright 2003
ISBN: 0-932859-58-5
Printed in China
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproduced
inanyformwithoutpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptin
thecaseofbriefquotationsembodiedinarticlesorcriticalre-
views.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Brad Harrub (1970 - ) and Bert Thompson (1949 - )
The Truth About Human Origins
Includes bibliographic references, and subject and name indices.
ISBN 0-932859-58-5
1.Creation. 2. Science and religion.3. Apologetics and Polemics
I.Title
213—dc21 2003111100
DEDICATION
Onoccasion,therearecertainindividualswhoquietlystep
intoourlives—andwholeavesuchanindelibleimprintthat
we find our existence changed forever.
Thisbookisdedicatedtofoursuchindividuals,whomwe
neverwillbeabletorepayfortheirunwaveringmoralandfi-
nancialsupportofourwork,andwhoexpectnothinginre-
turnfortheirincrediblegenerosity—exceptourcontinued
pledge to teach and defend the Truth.
Thisbook(andnumerousotherslikeit)nevercouldhave
cometofruitionwithouttheongoingsupportofthesetwo
Christiancoupleswho,althoughseparatedbymanymiles,
walksidebysideintheircombinedeffortstoensurethesuc-
cess of Apologetics Press.
Thissideofheaven,fewwillknowthefullimpactoftheir
sacrifices. Fortunately, God does.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter1—The“RecordoftheRocks”[PartI]. . . . . . 3
BiologicalTaxonomyandHumanEvolution . . . . . .4
DidManEvolvefromtheApes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
AnExaminationofthe“RecordoftheRocks”. . . . .12
Aegyptopithecus zeuxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Dryopithecus africanus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Ramapithecus brevirostris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Orrorin tugenensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Australopithecus (Ardipithecus) ramidus . . . . .27
Australopithecus anamensis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Kenyanthropus platyops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Chapter2—The“RecordoftheRocks”[PartII] . . . . 41
Australopithecus afarensis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Lucy’s Rib Cage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Lucy’s Pelvis and Gender. . . . . . . . . .47
Lucy’s Appendages—Made for Bi-
pedalism,orSwingingfromTrees?. .50
Australopithecine Teeth:
More Evidence that
Lucy was Arboreal. . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Australopithecine Ears:
Human-like or Ape-like?. . . . . . . . .54
Lucy: Hominid or Chimp? . . . . . . . .55
Australopithecus africanus/
Australopithecus boisei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
The Laetoli Footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Homo habilis/Homo rudolfensis . . . . . . . . . . .68
Homo erectus/Homo ergaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Homo sapiens idaltu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
- i -
What Does the “Record of
theRocks”ReallyShow?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
TheParadeofFossilErrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
NeanderthalMan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
NebraskaMan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
PiltdownMan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
JavaMan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
RhodesianMan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Chapter3—MolecularEvidenceofHumanOrigins. . 99
ChromosomalCounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
RealGenomicdifferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
“MitochondrialEve” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
TheDemiseofMitochondrialEve. . . . . . . . . . . . .116
The Molecular Clock
—DatingMitochondrialAncestors . . . . . . . . . . .121
Serious Errors in Mitochondrial
DNADataintheScientificLiterature. . . . . . . . . . .126
Neanderthal vs. Human DNA—
IsItaMatch? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Chapter 4 — The Problem of Gender
andSexualReproduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
“Intellectual Mischief and Confusion”—
OrIntelligentDesign?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
From Asexual to Sexual Reproduction—
TheOriginofSex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
The Lottery Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
The Tangled Bank Hypothesis. . . . . . . . .145
The Red Queen Hypothesis. . . . . . . . . . .147
TheDNARepair Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . .148
WhySex? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
The50%Disadvantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
MarsandVenus,orXandY?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
DifferencesAmongVariousSpecies. . . . . . . . . . .164
- ii -
DifferencesinAnimalandHumanSexuality . . . .167
The Complexity of the Human
ReproductiveSystem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Anatomical Differences
BetweenHumanMalesandFemales. . . . . . . . . .173
Cellular Differences Between
HumanMalesandFemales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
TheFutureofHumanReproduction . . . . . . . . . . .178
Chapter5—TheProblemofLanguage . . . . . . . . . . 183
Evolutionary Theories
ontheOriginofSpeech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Adam—The First Human
toTalkandCommunicate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Tower of Babel—and
TheUniversalLanguage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
The Brain’s Language
Centers—CreatedbyGod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
AnatomyofSpeech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
BirdsofaFeather—OrNakedApe? . . . . . . . . . . . .194
ComplexityofLanguage—UniquelyHuman . . . .202
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Chapter6—TheProblemoftheBrain. . . . . . . . . . . 209
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209
HistoryoftheBrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
TheEvolutionoftheBrain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
GrowingNeurons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
TheBrainVersusaComputer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241
TwelveCranialNerves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Chapter 7 — The Evolution
ofConsciousness[PartI]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
TheOriginofLife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
TheOriginoftheGeneticCode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251
TheOriginofSex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
- iii -
TheOriginofLanguageandSpeech. . . . . . . . . . .253
The Origin of Consciousness—
“TheGreatestofMiracles” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Importance of Human Consciousness. . .253
“Mystery” of Human Consciousness. . . .256
Consciousness in General . . . . . . . .257
Consciousness and the Brain. . . . . .259
Consciousness and the Mind. . . . . .260
ConsciousnessDefined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
Why—andHow—DidConsciousnessArise? . . . . .271
Why Did Consciousness Arise? . . . . . . . .272
Why Do We Need Consciousness? . . . . .276
How Did Consciousness Arise?. . . . . . . .286
Evolutionary Bias and the
OriginofHumanConsciousness . . . . . . . . . . . .296
What Does All of This have to do with
theOriginofHumanConsciousness? . . . . . . . .301
RadicalMaterialism—A“Fishy”Theory. . . . . . . . . .306
DoAnimalsPossessConsciousness? . . . . . . . . . . .313
The Brain, the Mind, and
HumanConsciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328
Materialism, Supernaturalism,
andtheBrain/MindConnection . . . . . . . . . . . .330
TheConceptofMind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333
Chapter 8 — The Evolution
ofConsciousness[PartII] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Theories of the Origin
ofHumanConsciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347
The“HardProblem”ofHumanConsciousness. .350
“Failure is not an Option” . . . . . . . . . . . .352
TheoriesofHumanConsciousness. . . . . . . . . . . .353
Dualism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354
Monism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361
Psychical Monism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363
- iv -
Radical Materialism (Functionalism). . . .364
Panpsychism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373
Epiphenomenalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375
Identity Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
Nonreductive Materialism/
Emergent Materialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387
Dualist-Interactionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .419
Chapter 9 — The Problem
of SkinColorandBloodTypes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Whatisa“Race”?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .435
WhySoManyRacialCharacteristics? . . . . . . . . .439
TheOriginofMan’s“Colors”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443
OtherFactors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448
Differences Between Human
andAnimalBloodTypes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .453
ComponentsofHumanBlood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .454
DifferentBloodTypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457
TheAdamandEveIssue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458
Humans,Animals,andBlood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .459
WhataboutBloodTypesofOtherAnimals?. . . . .459
WhataboutHibernation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .460
WhataboutBirds? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
WhataboutFish?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
Chapter10—Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
SubjectIndex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
NameIndex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
- v -

EversinceCopernicusdecidedtoputtheSunatthecenter
ofthesolarsystem,variousscientistsandphilosophershave
workedovertimeintheireffortstodiminishtheroleofhuman-
kindintheUniverse.Asaresult,wehavegonefrombeingthe
crowninggloryofGod’screation,toahairlessapestuckona
smallplanetcirclingamediocresuninthedistantreachesof
onearmofasinglegalaxythatisoneamongbillionsofothers.
Someofthemostwidelyreadauthorsintheevolutionarycamp
(suchasCarlSagan,StephenJayGould,StevenWeinberg,and
RichardDawkins)haverepeatedlyemphasizedthelackofour
uniqueness,andthe“luck”supposedlyrelatedtoourveryex-
istence(mundane as it may be).
Thus,manisviewedasoccupyingneitherthecenterofthe
Universe,noranysortofpreeminentplaceinthelivingworld;
rather,wearenothingmore,norless,thantheproductofthe
samenatural,evolutionaryprocessesthatcreatedallofthe
“otheranimals”aroundus.Inshort,weareatbesta“cosmo-
logicalaccident.”Or,toexpresstheideainthewordsofthe
late,eminentevolutionistofHarvard,GeorgeGaylordSimp-
son:“Manistheresultofapurposelessandnaturalprocessthat
didnothavehiminmind.Hewasnotplanned.Heisastateof
matter,aformoflife,asortofanimal,andaspeciesoftheOr-
derPrimates,akinnearlyorremotelytoalloflifeandindeed
to all that is material” (1967, p. 345).
Accordingtothemostextremeversionofthisview,itisthe
utmostarroganceonman’sparttoidentifyanycharacteristic
thatdistinguisheshimfrommembersoftheanimalkingdom.
Anydifferenceswemightthinkweperceivearemerelyamat-
terofdegree,andforallthethingswemaydobetter,thereare
otherthingswecertainlydoworse.Otherprimates,inpartic-
ular,areworthyofcoequalitybecausetheyaresupposedto
- vii -