The Flaw in Evolutionary Theory (Alexia Barrios)

I have always embraced and fully believed in the Darwinian theory. But similar to Dostoevsky, I have now come to see a flaw in this theory. According to his theory, animals work in their own self-interest, solely doing what is best for them and what will allow them to continue to survive.  The flaw in his theory, like Mr. Shapiro said, is that it does not explain us. We are different from animals in that we “consciously…have left them (our best interest) in the background and have rushed headlong on another path, to meet peril and danger, compelled to this course by nobody and nothing, but, as it were, simply disliking the beaten track and …willfully, struck out another more difficult, absurd way…” (14) The evolutionary theory fails to explain why we have this desire to do what is not in our best interest. One reason many of us may do this is a way to express our free will. We do not like being told what to do so we would occasionally take the “incorrect” route and be spiteful in a sense in order to prove that we are capable of deferring from this path because we want to and can.  This concept of free will is what makes us different than animals, but whether or not it is an advantageous characteristic I am not entirely sure.