Comprehension : Comprehension

Q 121 / 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.
With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been
made:

  1. Only species that have the ability to overcome environmental catastrophes will survive and perpetuate.
  2. More than 90% of the species on the earth are in the" danger of getting extinct due to drastic changes in the environment.
  3. Darwin's theory explains all the natural phenomena.

Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

EXPLANATION

Correct Option (A)

Assumption 1 is valid. The passage explicitly states that the extinction of species is an outcome for those "which cannot overcome environmental adversity." This directly implies that only species possessing the ability to surmount environmental catastrophes will survive and perpetuate.

Incorrect Options:

  • Assumption 2 is not valid. The passage mentions that "more than 90% of species that have ever lived on the earth are now extinct." This refers to the historical extinction rate of species throughout Earth's history, not to the current percentage of existing species that are in danger of extinction due to drastic environmental changes.
  • Assumption 3 is not valid. The passage compares Darwinian laws to those of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, describing them as "sets of natural laws that explain natural phenomena in the universe." This comparison establishes their scientific credibility and explanatory power within their respective fields, but it does not claim that Darwin's theory provides an explanation for all natural phenomena universally.