What Came First – the Chicken or the Egg? Let’s Dispel the Myths Around This Question
The question: "What came first - the chicken or the egg?" seems to people to be somewhat intriguing. However, there has long been a scientifically proven answer: first came the egg.
The chicken and egg paradox was originally posed to philosophers and was in the category of "Where does the ring begin?" Ancient thinkers were asked to ponder where cyclical processes begin.
Over time, the worldview problem moved to the field of natural science, and biology clearly answers the question posed. But the philosophical nuance remained in it.
First of all, it is important to understand that the logic problem is talking about a chicken, and not about any other egg-laying animal.
The phrase "chicken egg" allows for two possible interpretations:
- an egg laid by a hen;
- an egg from which a chick will soon hatch, which will later grow into a hen.
A simplified diagram of the emergence of the first chicken involves five stages:
- Initially, the planet was inhabited by birds belonging to the biological species "proto-chicken".
- From the "great-rooster" the "great-hen" conceived an egg. Roughly speaking, this is one cell capable of dividing and forming daughter cells.
- As cells divide, a new organism is formed and develops – the future chicken.
- The "great hen" lays and hatches an egg.
- After a certain time, a chick hatches from the egg, which in the future becomes a chicken.
Assuming that a chicken is born in a chicken egg, the dispute about primacy ceases.
Opponents of this point of view claim that the chicken appeared first, hatching from the egg of the "proto-chicken", and only then began to lay full-fledged eggs. The arguments presented are not substantiated and are not accepted by scientists.
Strictly speaking, there is no difference between a chicken egg and a "proto-chicken" egg. In any case, the chicken came from an egg.
The evolution of biological species lasts millions of years. Thousands of generations participate in this process. And it is impossible to claim that today's "proto-chicken" will give birth to a baby - a future chicken - tomorrow.
External factors – available food, the environment of predatory animals, climate – lead to the mutation of biological species. Successful changes are fixed in the organism over time, and sometimes can lead to the emergence of a new, updated species.
It is necessary to consider not a single "grandmother", egg and chicken, but many generations of this bird. However, the chain remains unchanged: "grandmother" - egg - chicken. Conclusion: the egg was first.
