| Revision as of 15:40, 8 November 2017 view sourceජපස (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers60,512 edits →Semantic ambiguities: You make a good point that removing poor sources and leaving unsourced content is problematic. So g'bye section!Tag: 2017 wikitext editor← Previous edit | Revision as of 15:52, 8 November 2017 view source Agricolae (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers31,009 edits Sorensen essay doesn't deserve separate treatment, as it is just another recapitulation of what is already in the article. It should be cited properly (it appeared in a journal, not as a monograph)Next edit → | ||
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| {{Wiktionary|chicken-or-egg question}} | {{Wiktionary|chicken-or-egg question}} | ||
| The '''chicken or the egg''' ] ] is commonly stated as "which came first: the ] or the ]?". The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. "Chicken-and-egg" is a metaphoric adjective describing situations where it is not clear which of two events should be considered the ''cause'' and which should be considered the ''effect''. | The '''chicken or the egg''' ] ] is commonly stated as "which came first: the ] or the ]?". The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. "Chicken-and-egg" is a metaphoric adjective describing situations where it is not clear which of two events should be considered the ''cause'' and which should be considered the ''effect''. | ||
| ==Explanation by Roy A. Sorensen (1992) == | |||
| A simple explanation of why the egg came first was by Roy A. Sorensen in his one-page-article in 1992. He argued that although it is indeterminate which animal was the first chicken, the question of whether the chicken or the chicken egg came first has a determinate answer. | |||
| Since an animal does not evolve into another species during its lifetime, and since organisms can fail to breed true, so it is necessary for ''first chicken'' to develop from the ''first egg'' and it does not matter that we cannot point specific ''first chicken'' (''first egg'')<ref>Roy A. Sorensen. 1992. The Egg came before the chicken. Oxford University Press.</ref> | |||
| ==Scientific resolution== | ==Scientific resolution== | ||
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| | date=2016-09-21 | | date=2016-09-21 | ||
| | website=] | | website=] | ||
| | accessdate=2017-07-11}}</ref> Put more simply by ]: "Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The egg – laid by a bird that was not a chicken."<ref>{{cite web | | accessdate=2017-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first= Roy A. |last=Sorensen|title=The Egg came before the chicken|journal=Mind|volume=101|number=403|pages=541-542|year=1992}}</ref> Put more simply by ]: "Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The egg – laid by a bird that was not a chicken."<ref>{{cite web | ||
| | url=https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/296100559423954944 | | url=https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/296100559423954944 | ||
| | title=Just to settle it once and for all: Which came first the Chicken or the Egg? The Egg -- laid by a bird that was not a Chicken | | title=Just to settle it once and for all: Which came first the Chicken or the Egg? The Egg -- laid by a bird that was not a Chicken | ||
Revision as of 15:52, 8 November 2017
This article is about modern interpretations. For classical philosophical question, see Metaphysics (Aristotle) and Moralia.
The chicken or the egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as "which came first: the chicken or the egg?". The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by chickens. "Chicken-and-egg" is a metaphoric adjective describing situations where it is not clear which of two events should be considered the cause and which should be considered the effect.
Scientific resolution
Although the question is typically used metaphorically, literal answers have been formulated for whether the chicken or egg came first.
If the question refers to eggs in general, the egg came first. The first Amniote egg appeared at least 200 millions of years BCE, modern estimate is 312.
If the question refers to chicken eggs specifically, the answer is still the egg, but the explanation is more complicated. An animal nearly identical to the modern chicken (i.e., a proto-chicken) laid a fertilized egg that had DNA identical to the modern chicken (due to mutations in the mother's ovum, the father's sperm, or the fertilised zygote). Put more simply by Neil deGrasse Tyson: "Which came first: the chicken or the egg? The egg – laid by a bird that was not a chicken."
See also
References
- JSTOR 1304086
- Benton M.J. and Donoghue P.C.J. 2006. Palaeontological evidence to date the tree of life. Molecular biology and evolution. 24(1): 26–53.
- Breyer, Melissa (2013-02-11). "Finally answered! Which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Mother Nature Network. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- Fabry, Merrill (2016-09-21). "Now You Know: Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
- Sorensen, Roy A. (1992). "The Egg came before the chicken". Mind. 101 (403): 541–542.
- Neil deGrasse Tyson (2013-01-28). "Just to settle it once and for all: Which came first the Chicken or the Egg? The Egg -- laid by a bird that was not a Chicken". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-07-11.