Which came first - the chicken or the egg? (new solution)
Looks like I found a new solution to this old scholastic problem. Never seen such decision in works of Plutarch, Macrobius,
and others. (See. [1] and cited therein, and [2], [3]), so i consider myself as a pioneer - and if anyone thinks otherwise - please convincingly speak.
Preliminary considerations
Since the question was initially raised by the ancient Greeks and Romans - philosophers, logics and scholastics, the answer is to be found in the same areas of knowledge, using the same tools (ie involvement of data and methods, such as genetics or paleozoology - means going beyond the original problem).
In addition, the formulation of the problem allows for evolution - if something came before / after, it means that before this - it was something different (ie, the question implies a certain variability of the phenomenon in time).
I contend that it is possible to obtain a simple solution to this problem by introducing the evolution (as an idea of evolution was known to the ancient - see, for example, Empedocles, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Titus Lucretius [4]).
Solution
We assume at first there were some proto-lizards (direct ancestors of chicken), they hatch eggs from leather (and in the shell of this eggs was a small, ever-increasing lime content).
But at some point proto-lizard lay an egg with completely lime shell, which can be considered a chicken egg. This moment - the most important for the entire problem.
1. If we believe the “chicken” means those who lays chicken eggs - that first appeared chicken. Of course, we can say that it has become a chicken only after the first egg laid. It is necessary to clarify - this chicken existed before laid the first egg (but before the first egg was laid, it wasn't exactly known that it is - the first chicken).
2. And if we assume that the “chicken” means those who hatched from an egg - the egg was the first. (If we take definition: “chicken” - those who hatched from a chicken egg - evolution becomes impossible, and the problem - insoluble).
The whole issue from this point of view - in the selection between 1 or 2, and it is conventions of observers, not the deep attribute of a nature.
Ie question - Scholastic (assuming the above evolution).
That’s all.
1. chicken and egg problem
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8B_%D0%B8_%D1%8F%D0%B9%D1%86%D0%B0
2. Scientists have found out what it was before - the chicken or the egg
http://www.utro.ru/articles/2006/05/26/551484.shtml
3. British scientists decided to dispute the chicken and egg
http://korrespondent.net/tech/science/1096810-britanskie-uchenye-reshili-spor-o-kurice-i-yajce
4. The pre-Darwinian period of development of evolutionary theory
http://bono-esse.ru/blizzard/A/Posobie/Ecol/Evol/ist_evol.html
and others. (See. [1] and cited therein, and [2], [3]), so i consider myself as a pioneer - and if anyone thinks otherwise - please convincingly speak.
Preliminary considerations
Since the question was initially raised by the ancient Greeks and Romans - philosophers, logics and scholastics, the answer is to be found in the same areas of knowledge, using the same tools (ie involvement of data and methods, such as genetics or paleozoology - means going beyond the original problem).
In addition, the formulation of the problem allows for evolution - if something came before / after, it means that before this - it was something different (ie, the question implies a certain variability of the phenomenon in time).
I contend that it is possible to obtain a simple solution to this problem by introducing the evolution (as an idea of evolution was known to the ancient - see, for example, Empedocles, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Titus Lucretius [4]).
Solution
We assume at first there were some proto-lizards (direct ancestors of chicken), they hatch eggs from leather (and in the shell of this eggs was a small, ever-increasing lime content).
But at some point proto-lizard lay an egg with completely lime shell, which can be considered a chicken egg. This moment - the most important for the entire problem.
1. If we believe the “chicken” means those who lays chicken eggs - that first appeared chicken. Of course, we can say that it has become a chicken only after the first egg laid. It is necessary to clarify - this chicken existed before laid the first egg (but before the first egg was laid, it wasn't exactly known that it is - the first chicken).
2. And if we assume that the “chicken” means those who hatched from an egg - the egg was the first. (If we take definition: “chicken” - those who hatched from a chicken egg - evolution becomes impossible, and the problem - insoluble).
The whole issue from this point of view - in the selection between 1 or 2, and it is conventions of observers, not the deep attribute of a nature.
Ie question - Scholastic (assuming the above evolution).
That’s all.
1. chicken and egg problem
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8B_%D0%B8_%D1%8F%D0%B9%D1%86%D0%B0
2. Scientists have found out what it was before - the chicken or the egg
http://www.utro.ru/articles/2006/05/26/551484.shtml
3. British scientists decided to dispute the chicken and egg
http://korrespondent.net/tech/science/1096810-britanskie-uchenye-reshili-spor-o-kurice-i-yajce
4. The pre-Darwinian period of development of evolutionary theory
http://bono-esse.ru/blizzard/A/Posobie/Ecol/Evol/ist_evol.html