"Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution" -Theodosius Dobzhansky. In 1973, Dobzhansky published the above titled essay in American Biology Teacher (vol. 35 pgs. 125-129).
http://biologie-lernprogramme.de/daten/programme/js/homologer/daten/lit/Dobzhansky.pdf
Though many evolutionary biologist are at odds with creationists Dobzhansky's essay was in fact an argument for the coexistence of the two schools of thought. Dobzhansky published his essay in hopes that the creationists who so vehemently fought evolutionary biology would gain understanding and allow evolution to be taught in school. He was a proponent of theistic evolution, which simply states that "there is a God, that God is the creator of the material universe and (by consequence) all life within, and that biological evolution is simply a natural process within that creation. Evolution, according to this view, is simply a tool that God employed to develop human life." -Wikipedia, Theistic Evolution. I was first made aware of this quote by a professor of mine who was teaching Evolutionary Biology. On the first day of class the professor emphasized that the course we were to embark upon did not have to be in conflict with religious beliefs. He illustrated his point by stating that BYU, a private religious school, employs more evolutionary biologist than the University of Utah, the so called heathen school.
What we were to learn would give meaning to the workings of life in ways that no other science could do. Evolution is no longer considered a theory, but has been ratified by every science as law, which is no small feat, as scientists rarely graduate theory into scientific law. There are many details regarding the workings of evolution that remain to be elucidated, there are many theories regarding the fine details of how to draw the phylogenetic tree of life, yet evolution itself is unquestionable. That year I took many classes wherein evolution provided the foundation of understanding. Dobzhansky was right, evolution has become my greatest and most valuable tool in understanding the mechanisms at work in every aspect of life. My understanding of the facets of life are so much more profound for my education in evolution. Through the light of evolution I have gained an understanding of why men are obsessed with breasts and butts, of why we go to war, of why the differences between the sexes exist. I understand the origins of life, and why they began. I understand how we developed state societies, politics, and the movements of economics. Even the abstractness of art begins to reveal itself through the understanding of evolution.
The understanding of these finites of life have not been directly taught to me, but I've deduced them using evolutionary theory. Human behavior and, by consequence, the laws of society are dictated by evolutionary principals. It is with this foundation that I make a comment on a bumper sticker that I saw some years ago as I was running to class. The sticker stated that "No one is born a bigot". But the fact is quite the opposite. Everyone is born a bigot. I will not elaborate extensively on the logic behind this truth, but I will simply state that it is a result of inclusive fitness. The simple fact that we are, by our nature, inclined to favor our own while oppressing those who are not, does not give us free licenser to the prejudices that have plagued society through the generations. Indeed, it is through better understanding of our inherent nature that we are able to best combat the evils of society. Because I am a man, and born with a strong sex drive, does not mean that I am at the mercies of my hormones. My parents and teachers did very well at instilling morality into my character. As we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. today, and his life work of equal rights, let's not forget that we have the power to rise above our instincts, but do not turn a blind eye to what those instincts are, because it is through understanding them that we are best able to rise above them. We have come along way in the promotion of equal rights, but we yet have a long way to go before Martin Luther's dream is realized.
