Evolution is an unjustified axiom of faith

Analysis: My opponent seems confused in a post-facto view of evolutionary biology. He sees this body of evidence and makes the claim that it is just an assumption or an unfalsifiable hypothesis (act of faith). However, when the science of evolution subsumes the massive, collective work in the fields of chemistry, biology, biochemisty, molecular biology, developmental biology, population biology, mammalogy, ornithology, botany, zoology, herpetology, ecology, genetics, ethology, biogeography, epidemiology, psychology, and population genetics without evidence to the contrary, while making and confirming predictions we can be lead to believe that evolution is a highly accurate scientific theory.Furthermore, Science is a falsifiable endeavor. If a body of evidence emerges that demonstrates evolution to be false or inaccurate, the truth-power of evolution will be diminished and evolution as a science may see its end. However, the argument, evidence, and reason all point to evolution being a highly successful and accurate scientific theory. [http://en.wikipedia.org...]Science relies on a set of assumptions, but that does not, therefore, mean that its findings are assumed. The rigorous research, testing, and peer review process makes sure that data and evidence are of the highest quality. [http://web.utk.edu...]RE: a)Increasing diversity and (complexity?)Let's take for instance the evolution of the eye. 96% of animal species have eyes. The first animal eyes did little but detect light—they helped to establish day/night cycles and coordinate behavior—but more-complex eyes soon evolved. A predator who can see its prey from a distance, or a prey animal that can see the shadow of a predator approaching, has a clear survival advantage over those who can't. Even a slight improvement in image quality provides a significant survival advantage, allowing for the step-by-step evolution of increasingly complex eyes.Eyes most likely evolved from simple to complex through a gradual series of tiny steps. Piecing together the sequence of eye evolution is challenging, and we don't know the sequence of steps that led to every modern eye. But we do know that modern animal eyes come in many varieties, spanning a continuum from the simplest to the most complex. This demonstrates that all types of eyes are useful, and that eyes of intermediate complexity could also have formed as steps in the evolution of complex eyes. Researchers at Lund University wanted to find out how long it might take for a complex eye to evolve. Starting with a flat, light-sensitive patch, they gradually made over 1,800 tiny improvements—forming a cup, constricting the opening, adding a lens—until they had a complex, image-forming eye. It is important to note that every tiny change these researchers made measurably improved image quality. The researchers concluded that these steps could have taken place in about 360,000 generations, or just a few hundred thousand years. 550 million years have passed since the formation of the oldest fossil eyes, enough time for complex eyes to have evolved more than 1,500 times. [http://learn.genetics.utah.edu...]b)Transitions?Tragopogon Owenby (1950) demonstrated that two species in this genus were produced by polyploidization from hybrids. He showed that Tragopogon miscellus found in a colony in Moscow, Idaho was produced by hybridization of T. dubius and T. pratensis. He also showed that T. mirus found in a colony near Pullman, Washington was produced by hybridization of T. dubius and T. porrifolius. Evidence from chloroplast DNA suggests that T. mirus has originated independently by hybridization in eastern Washington and western Idaho at least three times (Soltis and Soltis 1989). The same study also shows multiple origins for T. micellus. Genetic material was already addressed.Evolution has predictive powerExample: Insect wings evolved from gills, with an intermediate stage of skimming on the water surface. Since the primitive surface-skimming condition is widespread among stoneflies, J. H. Marden predicted that stoneflies would likely retain other primitive traits, too. This prediction led to the discovery in stoneflies of functional hemocyanin, used for oxygen transport in other arthropods but never before found in insects (Hagner-Holler et al. 2004; Marden 2005)