Species are evolutionary accidents

Logical incoherence is what often characterizes Darwinian science and the statements by Darwinian scholars. The latest example is the writing of Jerry Coyne in his book "why evolution is true". In one part of the book (p118), he makes the case that evolution by natural selection is not random. In another part (p176), he says that "species are evolutionary accidents." Since species are products of natural selection, he is saying in one place that species is random accident while in another place that species is not random accident.

Statements by Jerry Coyne that natural selection is not random:
"This brings up what is surely the most widespread misunderstanding about Darwinism: the idea that, in evolution, “everything happens by chance” (also stated as “everything happens by accident”). This common claim is flatly wrong. No evolutionist—and certainly not Darwin—ever argued that natural selection is based on chance. Quite the opposite."

"Richard Dawkins provided the most concise definition of natural selection: it is “the non-random survival of random variants.”


Statements by Jerry Coyne that speciation is random:
"The study of speciation tells us that species are evolutionary accidents."

It is amazing that a scientific theory can be interpreted in two opposite ways by its followers. If a theory is like that, it is not genuine science but is rather philosophy or religion. On the random nature of evolution, Darwinists can be divided into three camps.

Camp 1, Evolution by accidents. Typical examples include Jacques Monod, Ernst Mayr,Stephen Jay Gould,Larry Moran.
Typical statements:
Larry Moran: "I think the term "evolution by accident" is an accurate description of how evolution occurs.......The "problem" is that writers like Richard Dawkins have made such a big deal about the non-randomness of natural selection that they risk throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A superficial reading of any Dawkins' book would lead you to the conclusion that evolution is an algorithmic process and that chance and accident have been banished. That's not exactly what he says but it sure is the dominant impression you take away from his work."

Ernst Mayr: "“If evolutionists have learned anything from a detailed analysis of evolution, it is the lesson that the origin of new taxa is largely a chance event. Ninety-nine out of 100 newly arising species probably became extinct without giving rise to descendant taxa. And the characteristic of any new taxon is to a large extent determined by such chance factors as the genetic composition of the founding population, the special internal structure of its genotype, and the physical as well as biotic environment that supplies the selection forces of the new species population.”

Camp 2, Evolution is not random. Typical examples include Richard Dawkins, Simon Conway Morris.
Typical statements:
Richard Dawkins: “the non-random survival of random variants.”

Camp 3, The logically impaired who claims evolution of new species is both random and nonrandom. Typical example, Jerry Coyne

If Darwinism is real science, it can only have one authentic position on the issue of randomness. That position belongs to camp 1.