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Darwin's Black Box: the Biochemical Challenge to Evolution

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Darwin's Black Box: the Biochemical Challenge to Evolution Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution by Michael J. Behe The Free Press, New York Reviewed by Thane Hutcherson Ury 7 cannot look at the universe as the result of blind chance, yet I can see no evidence of beneficent design, or indeed of design of any kind, in the details.' Charles Darwin, letter, July 12, 1870. We know a lot more about animals and plants than Darwin did, and still not a single case is known to me of a complex organ that could not have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications. I do not believe that such a case will ever be found. If it is . I shall cease to believe in Darwinism.' several well-matched, interacting Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker, 1986, p. 91. parts that contribute to the basic function, where the removal of any one of the parts causes the system Periodically a book is catapulted Behe has the enviable quality of to effectively cease functioning.'2 on the scene that commands the hooking the reader right off the bat, and Such systems are an aggregate of attention of all factions in the creation/ writing in an engaging, if not mutually dependent parts, all of which evolution debate. Michael Behe's entertaining, fashion. The text is are simultaneously necessary for Darwin's Black Box is just such a text. peppered with vivid, novice-friendly system functionality. Such symbiotic Behe, professor of Biochemistry at analogies, and provides intermittent in- simultaneity militates against any Lehigh University, Bethlehem, text 'technical demarcations' for those notion of gradual increases in Pennsylvania, has breathed new life wishing to go deeper. To make biochemical complexity vis-a vis into the design argument and complex thought accessible to the piecemeal incrementalism, since articulated an innovative critique of masses is quite a feat; the fact that natural selection is impotent prior to Darwinism which is as sure to fluster Behe does it so effortlessly, irenically minimal function. Irreducible Darwinians, as it is to delight Biblical and with such devastating clarity, complexity, therefore, is a bare- creationists. As with all of history's guarantees his being placed on the knuckled challenge to the heart and gadflies, Behe's apologetic is causing evolutionists' hit list for wholesale soul of Darwinism.3 Darwin himself quite a stir. When a rigid practitioner castigation.1 Whether the method- laid down the gauntlet: of scientific methodology is accused ological naturalists can actually 'If it could be demonstrated that of heresy by his colleagues, there can answer Behe, however, rather than any complex organ existed which be assurance of garnering lots of feigning rational engagement, is quite could not possibly have been attention in the public square. Since another matter. formed by numerous, successive, the book first appeared last year, it is The central thesis of Darwin's slight modifications, my theory enjoying its eighth printing, has been Black Box is that life is characterised would absolutely break down.'4 the object of both praise and by irreducibly complex biochemical Behe picks up the challenge, and his excoriation in nearly a hundred systems. By irreducible complexity, entire book is a response to Darwin's, reviews, and has been hotly debated on Behe means, pinpointing specifically where his radio shows and the internet. 'a single system composed of theory could be falsified. CEN Tech. J., vol. 11, no. 3, 1997 283 PALEY'S WATCH AT THE inability of anyone in his day to which is light years away from MOLECULAR LEVEL comprehend its astonishing contents. substantiating one step up 'Mt But with recent technological Improbable'.6 The paucity in the Behe begins his case with a advances, the box's 'content' has professional journals of falsifiable thumbnail sketch of Darwin's thought, yielded a mind-boggling complexity, explanations for complex systems and how it laid the groundwork for of which modern Darwinians can should not only cause the Darwinians modernity's creed that inorganic visually access, comprehend and to blush, but indicates how much these material gave rise to living matter, and assess the implications. Whereas 'peer reviewed' periodicals traffic in subsequently progressed up the great Darwin might be contextually 'hand-waving', partisan metaphysics. chain of being entirely by natural pardoned on this particular, modernity Those familiar with the pre- processes. The central purpose of is without excuse for any studied Darwinian apologetic of William Paley Darwin's Black Box is to demonstrate disregard of the box's accoutrements. will find many parallel threads in Behe. that Darwinism has been ill prepared Now that the lid of this black box has Paley fine-tuned a subset of the design to explain the paradigm-paralysing been pried open, inviting us to peek argument, called the 'argument from phenomena culled from recent inside, we encounter a flabbergasting perfection'.1 Darwin didn't answer breakthroughs in biochemistry. With array of intricate, synergistically Paley adequately,8 and probably his pen acting like a surgeon's scalpel, complex design.5 counted on readers of The Origin Behe points out that evolutionary Behe asks if the Darwinian rubric doing likewise. Modern readers, theory, in its Darwinian phase, was able of natural selection, before which however, have no excuse, for according to weather much initial scientific modern science feels obligated to to Hoyle and Wickramasinghe, criticism due to a rather crude remove its sandals, can account for 'The Speculations of The Origin understanding of cells. In Darwin's day 'irreducible complexity' of lilliputian of Species turned out to be wrong it was assumed that the cell was biological phenomena. Those familiar .... It is ironic that the scientific nothing but a 'simple little lump of with the tactics of Gould, Dawkins, facts throw Darwin out, but leave albuminous carbon '. Such an Dennett, Kauffrnan, et al., already William Paley, a figure of fun to understatement was not necessarily know these polemicists for naturalism the scientific world for more than indicative of lack of empirical integrity, will claim their positions can meet a century, well in the tournament but merely a barometer of consensus Behe's challenge regarding irreducible with a chance of being the ultimate prior to breakthroughs in biochemistry complexity. But judicious note should winner!9 and the advent of the electron be taken as to whether such responses But if contemporary Darwinists would microscope. Molecular complexity are based on hard-nosed empirical scientifically engage Paley at this was literally incomprehensible in the science, or merely theory laden, 'fact- point, rather than caricatures, they latter half of the nineteenth century. free' scientism, dressed up in prestige should see that he adroitly pre-nullified Thus, in Darwin's day, the cell was jargon. any notion of undirected increment- a 'black box'. Behe claims that the Behe points out that among the alism. Yet the predisposition today is history of science has been a chain of thousands of articles in technical to find any weak link in Paley's black boxes. This Behean metaphor journals related to biochemical adjacent assertions, which then serves refers to any device which performs a evolution, there is an eerie absence of as a diversion to not have to take marvellous function, but whose inner papers which actually provide an seriously his specific challenge. Since mechanism[s] remain mysterious. It empirically plausible scenario as to the that strategy has been effective for 138 would be comparable to a child playing origin and increase of irreducible, years, watch for it to be employed a computer game on the internet, while biomolecular complexity; ones which against Behe's thesis as well. utterly oblivious of the 64 megabytes genuinely grapple with incipient forms of RAM, 12X CD-ROM, Pentium and molecular transitional bridges. He EXAMINING THE CONTENTS chip, multi-gigabyte hard drive, etc. found instead what true science should OF THE BOX hidden in the box on Daddy's desk. The see, and what pseudo-science child knows how the game is played, desperately hopes can be kept from To illustrate that life is irreducibly but does not have the foggiest clue how public comprehension; that prestigious complex, and therefore designed, Behe the game works. And even if he is scientific journals are glutted with 'just takes the reader on a microscopic shown the components, they too would so' articles, amounting to nothing more expedition through the following become 'black boxes'. Darwin's than fraternal order question-begging, mechanisms: inability to access the box's content where the very things that have to be (1) the marvels of vision, (that is, the cell's complexity) stemmed proved are merely assumed a priori. (2) bombardier beetle ballistics, not only from an inability to visually The vast majority of articles fail to rise (3) bacterial flagella, access the inner sanctum of the box, above the level of 'sequence (4) the blood clotting process, but even more so from the sheer comparisons in protein molecules'; (5) intracellular transport, and 284 CEN Tech. J., vol. 11, no. 3, 1997 (6) disease immunity. has been opened, it is no longer can possibly comprehend). Com­ These each display different enough for an evolutionary pounding matters to the point of tears, aspects of irreducible complexity, explanation of that power to contemporary evolutionists are molecular cascading, and symbiosis of consider only the anatomical committed to believing that the eye biochemical systems, and veto structures of whole eyes, as must have evolved at least 40 separate Darwinian gradualism in that natural Darwin did in the nineteenth times!14 What Herculean restraint must selection is emasculated; that is, the century (and as popularizers of Christians make to keep a straight face incipient stages cannot even be evolution continue to do today).
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