A review of "Origin of the Human Species" [Long]

[Gauracandra]

This was a posting I made a long time ago. Anyone who wants a real interesting read should pick up Darwin's Black Box. Its funny, very detailed oriented, and a good response to Darwinian evolution.

 

When talking about whether life comes from matter I think we inevitably get into a discussion of Darwinian Evolution. I think the best book I've read that raises serious doubts about evolution is Michael Behe's "Darwins Black Box". I'm sure you will be able to find many reviews/ commentaries on this book, both pro and con, on the Internet. In case you are not familiar with the term black box, it refers to a process in which inputs go in, and then through some unknown process, outputs come out. The point he makes is that when Darwin developed his theory, he knew of the existence of the Cell (the black box) but he had no understanding of what was going on in the cell.

Certainly I will not be able to do justice to the book in a few short paragraphs, but one of the key arguments Behe makes is called "irreducible complexity". To give you a brief background, Michael Behe is a professor of Microbiology at Stanford University. In his argument against evolution he analyzes what occurs on the molecular level within the cell (something Darwin could never have known). He gives many examples, but for simplicity sake lets take blood cloting. When I cut my finger, my blood cells start to coagulate and seal up the wound. Thus I don't bleed to death. Suppose for this to occur I would need a certain protein sequence 12345. Behe's argument is that having sequence 12 5 will not help you. It is all or nothing.

 

Now evolutionarily speaking suppose I was able to get part 1 of the sequence. And then after 20,000 years of random processes I got part 5 on the other end. Now these are stand alone pieces. According to the rules established by Darwinian theory, if my body is producing things which I don't need, it will for energy conservation SELECT these items out. I can't say "I have piece 1 but just hold on, in another 100,000 years I'll have pieces 2 and 5, and then in 50,000 years I'll get pieces 3 and 4 and voila I'll have something useful called Blood Clotting. If your body is producing things it doesn't need, according to the very rules of Evolution, they will fade away. This is how they explain why we no longer have a tail. We had no use for it so over time it disappeared.

 

Thus from a molecular level you have irreducible complexity, a system so complex that if one piece is missing the entire system fails in its purpose. You either have all or nothing. The body is very finely tuned. If even a small piece is out of sequence you get things like Downe's Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anemia, Cancer etc.... It is partly because of this view that there has been a rather large change in Evolutionary theory (though you hardly ever hear of it). The traditional view is that evolution is a gradual process. But ideas like irreducible complexity bring into serious question this gradual process. There is a large and growing segment of Evolutionary theorists that acknowledge this problem. Their solution to this problem is to say that instead of occuring slowly, evolution actually occurs in big spurts. So one day I'm sitting around, and the next day I have sequence 12345, and all at once I've evolved the ability to clot blood. I say this jokingly, but pretty soon they'll say evolution occured in 6 days and on the seventh took a rest.

 

The problem is that you will never get rid of the Theory of Evolution. No matter how many serious questions you may bring up that call it into question, unless you can bring in another materially based theory that replaces it, it will stay. If I remember correctly, according to Vedic teachings, the size of the soul is described as such: Take the very, very tip of a hair, the smallest possible portion. Then cut this tip into two pieces. Then take one of these pieces and cut it in two. Then again and again, for 10,000 times. At the very end of this process you'll be left with an infinitesimally small piece. And that is the size of the soul. The soul is smaller than the atom and yet pervades the whole body. So how can our crude material tools analyze something which is both spiritual and infinitely small. This is the problem. Scientists will never be able to detect the soul and will always be looking for material processes to explain everything.

Gauracandra

 

 

[Gauracandra]

Just a slight correction to the quote I gave of myself. At the time of that posting I was going by memory on the book and its author. I have since purchased the book, and wanted to make a correction to that posting. Michael Behe is a professor at LeHigh University, not Stanford.

 

Gauracandra

[amanpeter]

There is a devotee website on this subject: http://www.geocities.com/perister/index.html

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

[This was just posted on another list today, and since the topic came up here, I thought I'd pass it along.]

 

A Review Of Dennis Bonnette's "Origin of the Human Species"

by Michael A. Cremo

 

Over a year ago, Dr. Dennis Bonnette, head of the philosophy department at Niagra University, began corresponding with me about a book he was writing on human evolution. Bonnette, a Catholic, had somehow encountered the book Forbidden Archeology, and it had a profound influence on him and the book he was writing. For some years, the standard Catholic position has been that God created humans but He did it by evolution. In his book, Bonnette confronts the possibility that evolution may not be a fact, and considers the implications this has for mainstream Christian theology. He proposes that although it may be possible to interpret the Bible in such a way as to accommodate Darwinian evolution, the Darwinian theory of evolution may not be true, thus giving support to those who wish to maintain a more traditionally creationist view of human origins and the Bible. In his book, Bonnette devotes an entire chapter to Forbidden Archeology. Please find below an announcement for the book, which is published as a volume in the series Studies in the History of Western Philosophy, as part of the Value Inquiry Book Series of Rodopi, an academic publishing company with headquarters in Amsterdam. The book is available on www.Amazon.com. If any of you do wind up getting the book and reading it, please post a reader's review to www.Amazon.com. Also find below an excerpt from the chapter dealing with Forbidden Archeology.

 

Michael A. Cremo

 

 

Dennis Bonnette. Origin of the Human Species. Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA: Editions Rodopi, 2001. Value Inquiry Book Series, No. 106. Studies in the History of Western Philosophy. Peter A. Redpath, Editor. 217 pages. ISBN: 90-420-1374-5

 

"Using the tools of philosophy Professor Bonnette investigates the origin of true humanity. Along the way he considers the questions of animal intelligence, the philosophical meaning of the species concept, Adam and Eve, and more. His demonstration that the standard human evolution story is compatible with Christianity makes his conclusion that the story itself may be shaky all the more impressive."

 

Dr. Michael J. Behe Professor of Biology Lehigh University Author, Darwins Black Box

 

"Origin of the Human Species is an explanation of how the human race came into existence. It is a clear exposition of what every Christian believes that humanity began with Adam and Eve, created by God as the parents of the human race."

 

Fr. John A Hardon, S.J. Theologian

 

Synopsis of the book:

 

This book lays claim to its intriguing title, so closely reflecting Charles Darwin's original, by clearly addressing central controversies begotten by the Origin of Species itself. It tests evolutionary theory's credibility, particularly regarding human origins. It evaluates the claims of scientific creationism versus materialistic evolution, while examining other possible scenarios. While consistently philosophical in methodology and perspective, the book is radically interdisciplinary in content, examining data and arguments drawn from natural science, philosophy, and theology. It critically evaluates the best arguments supporting and opposing biological evolution, while extensively analyzing the philosophical possibility of inter-specific evolution. Speculative and sometimes-original solutions are proposed for major disputed questions. These include: (1) detailed refutation of claims made on behalf of language-trained apes against human beings qualitative superiority, (2) critical analysis of claims made for extraterrestrial life, (3) detailed reconciliation of human evolutions standard theory with the Scriptural Adam and Eve, (4) detailed reconciliation of old-Earth chronologies with Genesis genealogies, and (5) critical examination of human evolutions current theory in terms of the radical thesis that true human beings may predate our alleged hominid ancestors. In every arena, careful scholarship presents classical philosophical analysis, reputable natural scientific judgments, and theologically accurate Scriptural interpretation. This book challenges the limits of human knowledge regarding every major question touching on human origins. It includes notes, bibliography, and an extensive index.

 

Excerpts from Chapter Fourteen:

 

In 1993, a thoroughly scholarly, 900-page work appeared. Co-authored by Michael A. Cremo and Richard L. Thompson, Forbidden Archeology offers detailed analysis of all significant paleoanthropological research done in the last two centuries. This work examines relevant literature pertaining to every major hominid claim or find and materials on other fossils and human remains that the evolutionary establishment has long overlooked or suppressed. Although this work has vigorous critics, Cremo and Thompson's methodical thoroughness and often good logic make many of their analyses and central inferences hard to trump and unscholarly to ignore. Forbidden Archeology, praised by Phillip E. Johnson, but condemned by Richard Leakey as "pure humbug," was bound to stir controversy.

 

In a twenty-two page Social Studies of Science review, Jo Wodak and David Oldroyd offer at least guarded acknowledgment that Cremo and Thompson have contributed to paleoanthropological literature because (1) "much of the historical material they resurrect has not been scrutinized in such detail before" and (2) they "do raise a central problematic regarding the lack of certainty in scientific truth claims." Wodak and Oldroyd maintain that "lack of certainty" arises "because the status of all knowledge is inherently a matter of degrees of probability and emerges as the result of social negotiation in concert with observation and inference." They suggest that "those scientists who insist that evolution is a fact might be better advised to recast this as highly probable theory." . . . . .

 

Cremo and Thompson are not evolutionary materialists or Biblical creationists. They openly state Hindu affiliation as Bhaktivedanta Institute members. Following Vedic literature, they hold that the human race is of great antiquity, hundreds of millions of years old. For this reason, many critics attack Forbidden Archeology, claiming its authors' belief system precludes unbiased handling of subject matter. Such personal attacks are unjust and ill founded. Every author has a philosophical stance which might, but need not, negate objectivity. Forbidden Archeology's historical evidence and argumentation stand on their own merits as sociological and epistemological critiques of contemporary paleoanthropology.

 

Earlier I discussed current human evolutionary theory's compatibility with divine revelation. My primary concern with Forbidden Archeology lies in analyzing the epistemological challenge it poses to present human evolutionary theory. (pp. 129-130)

 

Cremo and Thompson offer many cases to show that, no matter how far back we go in paleontological time, evidence of true human beings presence appears. This evidence deserves a hearing. A single valid piece of skeletal evidence indicating anatomically modern humans existing prior to the Late Pleistocene Period invalidates human evolution's current theory. Among Forbidden Archeology's extensive case documentation, I have presented evidence supporting anomalous anatomically modern human beings . . . appearing before the expected standard theory time-line.

 

If such cases were few, their enumeration might invite dismissal. Forbidden Archeology presents many dozens. Cremo and Thompson claim that the best proof for their thesis is a body of scientifically-reported evidence, accumulated during the last 150 years, that contradicts the current orthodox Darwinian accounts of human origins. To test that claim, nothing substitutes for careful investigation of Forbidden Archeology's extensive documentation. Cremo and Thompson's deeper purpose, one which I conclude they have achieved, is to shake the epistemological foundations of current human evolutionary theory. Serious, rational doubt about human evolution's standard theory is legitimate. (p. 136)

 

[ethos]

Both the books in this thread are excellent. "Forbidden Archeology" and "Darwin's Black Box" are gems at exposing the imperialistic stance of modern empirical science. The beauty of their efforts is that they do it in irrefuttable scientifc processes and terms.

 

Concerning the "Black Box," I viewed a challenge of the "irreducible mousetrap" concept used by Michael Behe throughout his book about a year ago. This thread made me think of it. I found it again and submit it here for your inspection.

 

The scientist is very self-righteous about his rebuttal and undoubtedly thinks he has proved his point.

 

Old - http://udel.edu/~mcdonald/oldmousetrap.html

 

New - http://udel.edu/~mcdonald/mousetrap.html

 

Is this a good example of the genius of modern science? He should market them and make a fortune. But I guess he hasn't thought of that.

[Gauracandra]

I would definitely recommend reading this book. It is well written, funny, and I think it definitely raises some serious questions about holes in the theory of evolution.