Chapter Summary Of 'The Greatest Show On Earth'

Chapter 1: Only A Theory?

In the first chapter of The Greatest Show On Earth, Dawkins discusses the acceptance of evolution as fact. He says that even with the insurmountable evidence to prove that it is a fact, evolution is still considered to some degree to be just a theory. In a survey of Americans, 40% of people oppose the idea of evolution. They instead believe that humans were created independently from all other living organisms. The percentage is only slightly lower in Britain. He argues that many of those who do not believe evolution to be a fact are uninformed. He states that his purpose for writing this book is to educate these people so that they may realize the truth and change their minds.
In order to say that an idea is more than a theory, we must first understand the many definitions of the word “theory”. Dawkins says that two of the definitions are of importance here. In the first definition, theory is described as an accepted idea that explains facts and it has been confirmed or proven. The second definition describes theory as a hypothesis or idea used to try to explain facts, an explanation through a personal view. Dawkins says that scientists use the first definition and creationists use the second.
According to Ernst Mayr, biological essentialism is rampant. For example a living rabbit is an imperfect version of the ideal specimen that doesn’t really exist. But yet all real rabbits will be compared to this ideal rabbit. Because real rabbits have a good amount of variation, this is seen as a flaw due to biological essentialism. Any deviation from the ideal rabbit is a defect. Essentialists are greatly opposed to change, which is what drives evolution. From an evolutionary point of view, a deviation from the known form brings forth the possibility for new species. Without any variations, there would be no