Where does the potential for Evolution come from?

I can understand the concept of evolution as an emergent manifestation of the process of natural selection such as gene mutations and so on and that the result is that of apparent or seeming design. By the way, it quite interestingly ties with 'dependent arising' in Buddhism. Anyway, it is pretty clear that as far as the natural world with all the fauna and flora is concerned, complex phenomena that is, needs no intelligent design or intention in order to exist. But where does the mere potential for evolution itself come from? Why is there something rather than nothing? How do we explain the mere existence of simple phenomena and their potential to have motion and capability of change as such, in order to allow the possibility of evolution to take place in the first instance?

In short, I understand that the 'dot' can evolve into something as complex as a human body, but where does the 'dot' and its capability of growth come from?

Please can anybody share their insights in this regard?

Thanks

I see it this way, various things happen to something, one or more of these things lead to that something continuing to "BE". The ones which no longer are cease to exist and discontinue.

The process goes on and eventually you get to where we are now.

The dot has no capacity for growth.

If you have many millions of dots that are slightly different their capacity for survival will cause their children to be sightly different as the ones that cannot survive are killed off by the environment before they can mate.

this is my 2 cents.
the way i see it, the universe began with a source (whatever you wish to call it, big bang, god, tao etc). this source expands this universe as we speak. but everything that is borne of a source, any kind of source, ultimately grows in relation to it. the tree that grows is related to the soil it grows on and can only grow in a certain way. children, likewise, grow in relation to their parents. likewise, the growth of this planet is related to the solar system which is related the other things eventually coming back to the big bang (or whatever that caused the universe). the universe operates constantly to create order, either by making two equal but opposites or by demolishing all boundaries so that all is one and the same.
for example, -ve charges and +ve charges balance themselves in a molecule (roughly speaking) which is the case of the former "order" [balancing opposites]. osmosis results in the liquid attaining a balance by high concentration on side diffusing to the lower side until they are evened out which is the latter order [dissolving the difference].
these two ways of balancing occur in all spheres of nature. one way or another either our world is either hung in a balance between opposites or all differences simply disintegrate so that harmony is acheived.

"evolution" to me seems like an expression of these two balancing acts of the universe. Evolution is about change and change is something that everything in this universe undergoes regardless of its shape, size and location. evolution of species has often resulted because of the species' need to adapt. adaption is a form of balancing things out. too many predators of rats in an area, resulted in rats becoming smaller as a way to even the playfeild. in other places, as fossil evidence has shown, rats went on to grow as big as a foot in length because of little to no predators. other times change brought out an entire emise of countless species (pollution for example). the source of evolution is simply an extension of this balancing.

thus, if you think that the universe is trying to maintain order by creating a harmony of equal and opposites, then since there is a source then there is an end and the universe is slowly moving towards that....which would shed light on the fact that scientists have been predicting for a long time that eventually the universe will stop expanding and in fact begin to retract.
on the other hand, if you think that the universe will form order by destroying the opposition all together then the universe is constantly changing and adjusting so that it can parrallel its own origin. the theory of "inflationary universe theory " sheds light on this matter (possibly) because it states that universe is basically a bunch of bubbles popping with one popping and other one taking its place. in a way, it might support what i said about the universe balancing itself via demolishing all boundaries so that the source and the universe become virtually inseperable. and i see it working with inflationary theory. but needless to say i could be wrong.

I hope it made sense.

~Sado

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
The dot has no capacity for growth.

If you have many millions of dots that are slightly different their capacity for survival will cause their children to be sightly different as the ones that cannot survive are killed off by the environment before they can mate.

Are dots alive?

Originally posted by Bicnarok
Are dots alive?

I assumed the dot was a stand in for extremely simple forms of life.