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I hear this kind of “it exists because it has to exist” thing from non-bioscience types a lot. Essentially, this is just a tautological statement.

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I don't read "it exists because it has to exist" in the parent's statement. They're saying that there's an advantage one way and a disadvantage another, and evolution favors advantages. I wouldn't characterize a statement like that as a tautology, and I don't think the author deserves your dig for it.

In my opinion there’s a general fundamental misunderstanding on the purpose of theories. I see it all the time — attempts to explain why something is useful simply because it exists (re: popular science evolution). There are loads of suboptimal traits that are counterbalanced by something else.

> and evolution favors advantages

The question was how, not why.

Your answer is like saying "how does the eye focus light" and answering "so that you can see".

Tautologies may be unsatisfying, but there's nothing specifically wrong with them.

It is what it is.

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