Natural Selection is an Oxymoron

Thanks Pro:Very interesting opening argument.Though I do agree that: " Some organisms reproduce. Some don't", but, truthfully, that Observation or should I really call it an Assumption, has little to do with Natural Selection overall.Pro states: "This is a completely passive process. There is nothing active about it. It simply happens. There is no "selection" taking place."Which is not entirely correct, in fact, you can break the term "Natural Selection" into it's two parts.* Firstly "Natural", this refers to the changes within a species that are taking or have taken place. These are mostly Random. There are small biological changes that do not produce instantly noticeable morphological or visual differences sometimes called Genotype (genetic structure or microbiological formation): These are usually small scale or Microevolutionary changes that can be in the form of Mutation, Genetic Drift, Interspecies propagation (There is evidence that Humans and Neanderthals being two separate species of Hominid, had interbred). Then there are changes that can be visually noticeable in the morphology or Phenotype (visual structure). To save typing I will extract these from the following Berkeley University reference: http://evolution.berkeley.edu... So please read this source for more information which I don't have room for in this argument. “Module duplication and adaptationA module refers to a unit that can be duplicated and further adapted. For example, arthropods have various numbers of body segments. IndividualizationThis is the modification of a particular module, usually when there is selection for a specialized function. HeterochronyHeterochrony is a change in the timing of developmental events. For example, a change in timing might slow down the development of the body, but not alter the maturation of the reproductive system. This change yields an adult organism with a form similar to the ancestral juvenile form. Allometric growth Allometric growth is a change in the rate of growth of a dimension or feature relative to other features. For example, we can describe some of the evolutionary changes that produced bats in terms of allometry. Bat wings are basically paws with really long fingers and skin stretched between them. In order for these wings to evolve, the rate of growth of finger bones must have increased relative to the growth of the rest of the bat's body — or perhaps the rate of growth of the rest of the body decreased relative to the fingers. Either way, it is allometry. “ * Secondly: Selection: This refers to what basically amounts to a Filtering System which Determines Which Changes Will Remain Within A Species within a particular Environment.Unlike Pro's Assumption, Selection does Exist and Selects which species can survive.We could define Selection as: The Criteria and Constraints in a selected environment that determines the Survival of those creatures that live within it.For instance: A Desert Environment will select those who can survive extreme temperature changes and can survive long periods without water, a genetic change that reduces these abilities will reduce the survival of the individual creature and thus be less likely to propagate, while any genetic change that enhance these abilities will be more likely to survive and propagate.Which brings me back to Pro's Opening Statement: "Some organisms reproduce. Some don't" Pro would be far more accurate if Pro stated: Organisms that Pass the Selection Criteria for a particular environment are more likely to Reproduce, than those who Fail. I will refer to Individualization specifically and notice that it states that there is Selection for specialised Function. Most often this function has to do with either one of three activities: 1: Obtaining nutrition. 2: Protection or self defence. 3: Propagation. If a change improves the species ability to perform any of those three basic activities, then likely those with the improvements will have a better chance of survival in that particular environment. This chance for survival and domination in that environment is a Selection process, those who lack improvements may become dominated by those that gain, thus they lose the race and fail to survive. This is what was termed: “Survival Of The Fittest”Though a far better description is: "Survival of the best adapted to that particular environment." Charles Darwin Stated: “It may metaphorically be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinising, throughout the world, the slightest cariations; rejecting those that are bad, preserving and adding up all that are good; silently and insensibly working” Ref: "Origin Of Species" http://ncse.com...http://www.ndsu.edu... http://www.youtube.com...