View source for Constancy of Species

(stub)
==Meaning of ''"species"''==
Aristotle: species<br>
Linnaeus: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being fixity of species]

==Meaning of ''"species"'' in modern Biology==
<blockquote>"{{3dots}}I was much struck how entirely vague and arbitrary is the distinction between species and varieties{{3dots}}"<div align="right">&mdash; Charles Darwin, ''On the origin of species by means of natural selection.'' 1859</div></blockquote> 

Modern Biologists are aware that the concept of ''species'' cannot be simply defined, and are careful to avoid ambiguity when using the term. For an overview of this "species problem" see the Wikipedia page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_concept Species Concept].

Here is a simple by-the-way explanation of what ''species'' usually means in modern Biology from bro [[Alan W Fowler|Alan Fowler]]:<blockquote>"{{3dots}} we are using the word 'species' as a biological term referring to groups of plants or animals that can successfully interbreed. Thus horses are a separate species from asses because, although they can interbreed, their progeny (mules and hinnies) are sterile. The different species belonging to the same family or genus share the same basic features; thus allthe 87 different species of kingfisher have spear-like beaks and dive for fish and all the 200 species of woodpecker bore into old trees and have long worm-like tongues than harpoon insects. ''The evolution of new species does not involve the acquisition of new organs or structures.''" <div align="right">&mdash; [[Alan W Fowler]], Twenty Essays in a Search for Truth, Printland, 2011. p.5</div>
</blockquote> 

An understanding of the concept of ''"species"'' helps avoid wrong thinking like this:<blockquote>
''"{{3dots}}we know that different species of dogs, cats, horses, ducks etc can be mated together and produce fertile offspring"''&nbsp;{{3dots}}<br>''"{{3dots}}the modern dog, with over 300 described species&nbsp;{{3dots}}"''
<div align="right">&mdash; Rob Thiele, ''"Things Hard To Be Understood '' '''Every beast of the field and every fowl of the air... Gen 2:19'''"<br>''[[Lampstand Magazine|Lampstand]]'', July-Aug 2019 pp.216-220</div>
</blockquote>

===Origin of Species and origin of Life===
According to [[Theistic Evolution|Darwin]], <em>species</em> originate through change, while <em>life</em> originated miraculously: <blockquote>''"life ... originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one ..."''</blockquote> 

Compare [[Baraminology]] (evolution within the Biblical kinds) and [[Was the Flood followed by rapid evolution?]]