Evolution could certainly exist in Middle-earth. Although I do not enjoy discussing the more "scientific" aspects of Tolkien's world, it is possible to conceive that there was evolution in Middle-earth at the beginning. When we speak of the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings, we are talking about an extremely narrow frame of time, evolutionarily speaking, and it would not be possible to witness in either of these texts the evolution of any species on any level other than emotionally and spiritually. If you believe in such ideas as evolution, then you must note that it takes millions of years for anything to evolve recognizably. This could not have been documented in Tolkien's world after the First Age or even after the awakening of the Firstborn. So it is entirely possible that there was evolution in Middle-earth. Having said this, I feel strongly that this is a topic Tolkien would not have wanted us to discuss, as there can be no definitive argument either way and as his writings were not meant to be scientifically debated.
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...where the instrument of intelligence is added to brute power and evil will, mankind is powerless in its own defence.
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