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Revision as of 15:52, 8 November 2017 by Agricolae (talk | contribs) (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))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) 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.