An interesting paper appeared recently in an issue of the journal Genetics, “Waiting for Two Mutations: With Applications to Regulatory Sequence Evolution and the Limits of Darwinian Evolution” (Durrett, R & Schmidt, D. 2008. Genetics 180: 1501-1509). As the title implies, it concerns the time one would have to wait for Darwinian processes to produce some helpful biological feature (here, Read More ›
Today marks the bicentennial of two notable birthdays, Abraham Lincoln’s and Charles Darwin’s. Lincoln is a hero to many Americans, but an international campaign is now under way to declare Feb. 12 Darwin Day. According to many of his modern followers, Darwin is the world’s greatest scientist, and his theory is the cornerstone of modern biology – if not the Read More ›
It’s impossible to isolate Darwinian theories from their societal consequences. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection has been one of the most politically and culturally consequential ideas of the past 200 years. Yet many defenders of evolution do their best to downplay the connections between Charles Darwin and what might be called social Darwinism. Darwin, they insist, focused simply Read More ›
The present controversy over evolution is often portrayed as the latest battle in a centuries-old war between science and religion. According to this stereotype, Darwin’s theory was a milestone in scientific progress, based on evidence that is now overwhelming, and its principal opponents were—and still are—religious fundamentalists committed to a literal interpretation of Genesis chronology. That stereotype, however, is false. Read More ›
In the Abstract of their recent article, “Waiting for Two Mutations: With Applications to Regulatory Sequence Evolution and the Limits of Darwinian Evolution” (GENETICS 180: 1501–1509, 2008), Durrett and Schmidt write that one of their aims is “to expose flaws in some of Michael Behe’s arguments concerning mathematical limits to Darwinian evolution.” Their effort, however, is itself seriously flawed. They Read More ›
Most of us find it annoying to be forced into a false dilemma. In a false dilemma, alternatives and gradations of belief are arbitrarily excluded as a technique of manipulation. Accept my version of orthodoxy or you’re a heretic! Jews and Christians employ this argumentative strategy, not least when conversation turns to emotionally charged subjects — like Darwinian evolution. And Read More ›
This article, published by New Oxford Review, contains an review of Discovery Institute Senior Fellow John G. West’s book Darwin Day in America: John G. West, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, reveals here to what extent scientific materialism has become the foundation for much of American politics and culture, and how dangerous this is for democracy. The rest of the Read More ›
Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who endured the horrors of Auschwitz, astutely commented on the way that modern European thought had helped prepare the way for Nazi atrocities (and his own misery). He stated, “If we present a man with a concept of man which is not true, we may well corrupt him. When we present man as an automaton Read More ›
This article, published by The Remnant, contains an interview with Discovery Institute Center for Science & Culture Senior Fellow David Berlinski: There, accompanied by my friends and colleagues Dr. John Rao and Andrew Bellon, I conducted my own interview of Berlinski for The Remnant, the day before the start of the annual 72-mile pilgrimage from that very cathedral to Notre Read More ›