Comprehension : Comprehension

Q 110 / 466

UPSC CSE Prelims 2022

Natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on the
earth. Therefore, the set of existing organisms can never be fully
prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of
this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome
environmental adversity. This failure to survive, in modem terms, can be
attributed to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological.
vagaries or biological mishaps (infections, diseases and so on). In
biological evolution on 'the earth, extinction of species has been a
major feature. The earth may presently have up to ten million species,
yet more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now
extinct. Once again, the creationist doctrines fail to satisfactorily
address why a divine creator will firstly bother to create millions of
species and then allow them to perish: The Darwinian explanation for
extinct life is once again simple, elegant and at once
convincing-organisms go extinct as a function of environmental or
biological assaults for which their inheritance deems them ill-equipped.
Therefore, the so-called Darwinian theory of evolution is not a theory
at all. Evolution happens-this is a fact. The mechanism of evolution
(Darwin proposed natural selection) is amply supported by scientific
data. Indeed, to date no single zoological, botanical, geological,
pale-ontological, genetic or physical evidence has refuted either of the
central two main Darwinian ideas. If religion is not taken into
consideration, Darwinian Jaws are acceptable just like the laws proposed
by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein-sets of natural laws that
explain natural phenomena in the universe.
According to the passage, natural selection cannot anticipate -
future environments on the earth as:

  1. species not fully prepared to -face the environmental changes that await them will face extinction.
  2. all the existing species would get extinct as their genomes will not withstand biological mishaps.
  3. inability of the genome to withstand environmental changes would - result in extinction.
  4. extinction of species is a common feature.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

EXPLANATION

Correct Option (C)

According to the passage, natural selection cannot anticipate future environments on Earth due to the following reasons:

  • Statement 1: Species are not fully prepared to face the environmental changes that await them, leading to their extinction. The passage states, "the set of existing organisms can never be fully prepared for environmental catastrophes that await life. An outcome of this is the extinction of those species which cannot overcome environmental adversity."
  • Statement 3: The inability of a species' genome to withstand environmental changes, such as geological vagaries or biological mishaps, results in its extinction. The passage attributes "This failure to survive... to the genomes which are unable to withstand geological. vagaries or biological mishaps."
  • Statement 4: Extinction of species is a common and significant feature in biological evolution. The passage notes, "In biological evolution on 'the earth, extinction of species has been a major feature."

Incorrect Options:

  • Statement 2: The passage does not claim that all existing species would become extinct because their genomes cannot withstand biological mishaps. While it highlights that extinction affects species ill-equipped for environmental or biological assaults, and that a vast majority of species that ever lived are extinct, it does not predict the universal extinction of all currently existing species.