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{Download PDF} the Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence Of THE BLIND WATCHMAKER: WHY THE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION REVEALS A UNIVERSE WITHOUT DESIGN PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Richard Dawkins | 496 pages | 14 Jul 2016 | WW Norton & Co | 9780393351491 | English | New York, United States The Blind Watchmaker - Wikipedia The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design by British science writer and zoologist Richard Dawkins presents the theory of evolution while arguing for its acceptance by the general public. While a bestseller and widely praised for its persuasive writing and in-depth research, it has been critiqued for not offering explanations of human consciousness. Its themes include scientific discovery, overcoming human cognitive limitations, and the peculiar social stigma against evolution. The title is a response to an hypothesis held by Theologian William Paley that the complexity of nature suggests an intelligent creator behind it. Paley likens this creator to a watchmaker. Dawkins argues that common misperceptions of evolution lead to many social problems, including a devaluation of nature and skepticism toward the efficacy of vaccines. It thus is urgent for society to confront its skepticism of evolution and to understand the evidence thoroughly before making light of it or claiming all the research is bogus. Dawkins looks into public misconceptions of how evolution operates. He highlights that it is an intensely random process. That it gives rise to complex organisms seems counterintuitive, but it becomes more reasonable when one considers this process takes millions and millions of years. With one example, Dawkins looks into how airplanes are built. This process is known as gradualism. One can see its work in how the human eye has developed, as well as the echolocation abilities of bats. On the surface, evolution goes against many religious teachings, especially Christianity, which argue for a supreme, all-knowing being who designed the universe. The implications of evolution—the universe was randomly created—are much harder to accept when coming from such a religion. Watchmaker analogy. Wikipedia:WikiProject Creationism. An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia. Home Groups Talk More Zeitgeist. I Agree This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms. Members Reviews Popularity Average rating Mentions 5, 49 1, 4. In the Rev. William Paley's argued in Natural Theology that just as finding a watch would lead you to conclude that a watchmaker must exist, the complexity of living organisms proves that a Creator exists. Not so, says Richard Dawkins, and in this brilliant and controversial book, the acclaimed evolutionary biologist sets out to demonstrate that the theory of evolution by natural selection - the unconscious, automatic, blind yet essentially non-random process discovered by Charles Darwin - is the only answer to the biggest question of all: why do we exist? Top Five Books of Best Science Books for Non-Scientists Falling for Science Alan Kay's Reading List LT picks: Blue Books No current Talk conversations about this book. As the title's extension spells out, this is a definitive as of '87 rebuttal against all comers in favor of Darwinism, but don't let my saying so prove it. I have only ever read one other Dawkins book before, The God Delusion, and really didn't like the style or attitude of the writing, so was not completely looking forward to this one. PDCRead Apr 6, An incredible work of great importance Status Dawkins, Richard — primary author all editions confirmed Groot, Frans de Translator secondary author some editions confirmed Olbinski, Rafal Cover artist secondary author some editions confirmed Pyle, Liz Illustrator secondary author some editions confirmed. The Pocket Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data. Charles Darwin [Charles Robert: ]. Stephen J. William Paley. Richard Dawkins. Los Angeles Times Book Prize Royal Society of Literature Award Torchlight List To my parents. We animals are the most complicated things in the known Universe. The Argument from Personal Incredulity is an extremely weak argument, as Darwin himself noted. But they cannot be the whole truth, for they deny the very heart of the evolution theory, which gives it the power to dissolve astronomical improbabilities and explain prodigies of apparent miracle. Smith, John Maynard. Gribbin, John. Amis, Martin. References to this work on external resources. From the author of The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins' The Blind Watchmaker has been acclaimed as the most influential work on evolution in the last hundred years. No library descriptions found. Haiku summary random mutation and natural selection slowly change species Munchkinguy. Add to Your books. Add to wishlist. Quick Links Amazon. Amazon Kindle 0 editions. Audible 0 editions. CD Audiobook 0 editions. Project Gutenberg 0 editions. Google Books — Loading Local Book Search. Swap want. Rating Average: 4. Norton An edition of this book was published by W. Is this you? I was baffled by his logical analogies, most excellent examples and extremely engaging vernacular. In this work, one learns much about the evolutionary adaptations of numerous species, of which the sonar technology of baths, dolphins and other mammals seemed most shocking. His reasoning of what constitutes miracles, probability Dawkins is one of my top picks for the most articulate, engaging and proficient scientists I've read to date. His reasoning of what constitutes miracles, probability theory and reasoning behind the drawback of the Lamark's theory of acquired characteristics is exceptionally enticing. The book should be a required high-school reading. A very, very high recommendation. View 1 comment. Feb 01, Seth Hanson rated it really liked it. At the time, this was a tough book for me to read. Considering the way I was raised - in a heavily religious atmosphere - it was hard for me to accept the theory of evolution. However, Dawkins very clearly lays out the theory in a way that anyone can understand if they are willing to open their mind just a little and put in just a little effort. It might be hard to accept but its even harder to dispute. Reality is like that. I think everyone should be required to read this book. Aug 10, Max rated it really liked it Shelves: biology. Dawkins wrote the book to counter creationist thinking, but for a firm believer in Darwinian evolution, his lengthy arguments were unnecessary. However, if Dawkins converted any creationists, I would consider the book a great success. With that said, there were a number of things I did like. Below are some items that caught my attention. Gradual evolution was then challenged by saltationists who believed large genetic changes or macro-mutations could explain much of evolution. A more refined view is that of Stephen Jay Gould who posited punctuated equilibrium. This view recognized varying rates of change, periods of relative stasis with intervals of rapid modification. Keep in mind rapid was on a geologic time scale where 50, years is a short time. The effect of gradualism that struck me was the notion that speciation is contingent on the demise of intermediate individuals. Otherwise one could not tell where one species began and another ended. The view of chimpanzees as property is made more acceptable because there are no living intermediaries that show our close relationship. This made me wonder how Neanderthals would be treated if some were found alive. Would they be treated like chimpanzees as a different species? Since they are beings who can successfully interbreed with Homo sapiens, would they be given the same rights? Would Christians consider them as individuals with souls that should be saved? I enjoyed Dawkins explanation of the development of the eye in support of gradualism. The watch is too intricate to have formed naturally. Post-Darwin, like the watch, some held that the eye was so complex as to defy gradual evolution. Dawkins counters. He takes us from a cell with a light sensitive spot to a creature with several such cells that is helped by this sense of light or dark. Then if the light sensitive cells are recessed, the creature can tell the direction of the shadow. Next if the walls of the cup build up and protrude partially over the cup, a pinhole camera is formed casting an image on the cup. Then, protecting the cup by extending a membrane over the pinhole forms a lens. And so on… I enjoyed the section on bats and echolocation. Dawkins also offers a reasonable explanation of how this seemingly amazing ability could develop. Dolphins, whales and some birds have independently developed this use of sound showing such development not to be quite as extraordinary as one might think. Dawkins pondering of how bats experience this sense I found fascinating. Do the nerve impulses get mapped by the brain to a model similar to the one we experience as vision? And then there is the fish that senses its environment from disruption to an electrical field — elctrolocation. How is this sense perceived? Another intriguing topic was how sexual selection augments natural selection. Unlike environmental factors which wax and wane in intensity, sexual selection forms a positive feedback loop. As both genes proliferate tails will grow longer until a practical limit is reached. The bird still has to be an able flyer to survive. This book will mean different things to different readers. Every creationist should read it although I suspect few will. If you get bored reading why creationism is wrong, keep in mind the book is written to be easily read, so you can get through those sections quickly. Nov 29, Jose Moa rated it it was amazing Shelves: biology , science.
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