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Evolutionists keep insisting that evolution is a fact beyond any rational debate. However, Kuhn has told us that scientists often keep hacking away under inadequate paradigms despite the build-up of difficulties. In fact, they do not admit to any difficulties until they find a new paradigm. The authors of a new Yale University Press monograph claim that their new hypothesis of facilitated evolution can explain the appearance of design in nature (grains of salt come in handy when claims like this are made). However, this example bears Kuhn out, as the authors admit: In the 150 years since Darwin, the field of evolutionary biology has left a glaring gap in understanding how animals developed their astounding variety and complexity. The standard answer has been that small genetic mutations accumulate over time to produce wondrous innovations such as eyes and wings. Drawing on cutting-edge research across the spectrum of modern biology, Marc Kirschner and John Gerhart demonstrate how this stock answer is woefully inadequate.
The
Plausibility of Life
Resolving Darwin’s Dilemma
Marc W. Kirschner and John C. Gerhart; Illustrated by John Norton
Yale University Press
Two eminent biologists tackle and provide exhilarating new answers to what they
argue is the central, unresolved question of evolution
In the 150 years since Darwin, the field of evolutionary biology has left a
glaring gap in understanding how animals developed their astounding variety and
complexity. The standard answer has been that small genetic mutations accumulate
over time to produce wondrous innovations such as eyes and wings. Drawing on
cutting-edge research across the spectrum of modern biology, Marc Kirschner and
John Gerhart demonstrate how this stock answer is woefully inadequate.
Rather they offer an original solution to the longstanding puzzle of how small
random genetic change can be converted into complex, useful innovations.
In a new theory they call “facilitated variation,” Kirschner and Gerhart elevate
the individual organism from a passive target of natural selection to a central
player in the 3-billion-year history of evolution. In clear, accessible
language, the authors invite every reader to contemplate daring new ideas about
evolution. By closing the major gap in Darwin’s theory Kirschner and Gerhart
also provide a timely scientific rebuttal to modern critics of evolution who
champion “intelligent design.”
MARC W. KIRSCHNER is professor and chair, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard
Medical School. JOHN C. GERHART is professor in the Graduate School, University
of California, Berkeley.
Reviews
“Kirschner and Gerhart address some of the most interesting questions in current
biology with enthusiasm and intellectual boldness. A remarkable advance in
understanding evolution.”—Alan H. Brush, Emeritus, University of Connecticut
"In this terrific new book, molecular systems meet evolution. The result is a
wealth of stimulating ideas set among clear explanations drawn from a revelatory
decade in biology."—Andrew H. Knoll, author of Life on a Young Planet
"A beautifully written account of developmental evolution, integrating molecular
and morphological information to describe clearly how highly complex organisms
evolve through processes that facilitate variation. A tour de force." —James W.
Valentine, author of On the Origin of Phyla
“One word comes to mind when I read this book: elegant. The authors have created
an elegant essay/argument/overview of the subject of evolution.”—Margaret
Lowman, author of Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology
"'Where does all the variation come from to explain the evolution of novel
traits?' This book, written in simple yet engaging prose, provides an answer
with a theory of facilitated variation."—Peter Grant, Princeton University
"In this thought-provoking and lucidly written book, Marc Kirschner and John
Gerhart address one of the most interesting, important, and yet difficult
dimensions of evolutionary science—the origins of novelty. Drawing on a vast
body of biological knowledge, from ant trails to the neural wiring of mouse
whiskers, the authors illustrate how organisms are equipped to adapt to
different and changing circumstances. They propose that variation, the raw
material of evolution, is facilitated by newly understood properties of the
development and physiology of organisms. This new view suggests that there is a
bias in organisms capacity to evolve and in the directions that evolution
takes. The Plausibility of Life will help readers understand not just the
plausibility of evolution, but its remarkable, inventive powers." —Sean Carroll,
author of Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo
"The Plausibility of Life is a brilliant effort to interpret evolutionary
biology in the light of recent discoveries in genomics and developmental
biology. It should be required reading for scientists and non-scientists
alike."—Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton University
"Complex living systems are plausible only if evolution can plausibly
generate them. The authors show how this has been achieved by providing many
detailed examples to illustrate their theory of facilitated variation. They
reveal what might be called the grammar of evolved systems, the flexible
organization of processes which allows change by accretion and rearrangement.
What emerges is the interesting consequence that it is life by design that is
implausible."—Sydney Brenner, Salk Institute