#7 Story of 2020: Darwin Is on the Roof – Discovery Institute

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The following wasoriginallypublished on March 18, 2020.

There is a joke abouta cat on a roof:

A man left his cat with his brother while he went on vacation for a week. When he came back, he called his brother to see when he could pick the cat up. The brother hesitated, then said, Im so sorry, but while you were away, the cat died.

The man was very upset and yelled, You know, you could have broken the news to me better than that. When I called today, you could have said he was on the roof and wouldnt come down. Then when I called the next day, you could have said that he had fallen off and the vet was working on patching him up. Then when I called the third day, you could have said he had passed away.

The brother thought about it and apologized.

So hows Mom? asked the man.

Shes on the roof and wont come down.

Jokes when analyzed lose their humor. At the risking of my bludgeoning this particular joke, the premise here is that people more readily accept shocking news when its given to them in partial steps. Not, The cat is dead, but first, The cat is on the roof. Something like that is going on in the debate about evolution. As biochemist Michael Behe explains in the Introduction to his new book, out today A Mousetrap for Darwin:Michael J. Behe Answers His Critics the public is being prepared very slowly for the demise of Darwinian evolutionary theory. It wasnt planned that way, but it is how things are playing out.

As popular media and biology textbooks present the matter, all is still well with Darwin. He is on the roof, but safe. ID scientists, such as that scoundrel Michael Behe, may pose their anti-science challenges. However, it is merely a gentle breeze on a cats fur.

But wait Actually, the cats fate has advanced a step beyond that. Behe writes:

Since the turn of the millennium a raft of distinguished biologists have written books critically evaluating evolutionary theory.Noneof them think that Darwins mechanism is the main driver of life. It may surprise people who get their information about the state of science from gee-whiz puff pieces in the mainstream media, but, although strong partisans still hold out, the eclipse of Darwinism in the scientific community is well-advanced. A few years ago the journalNaturepublished an exchange between two groups of scientists, one defending Darwin and the other saying its time to move on. Its nice to have defenders, but when an idea has been around for 150 years wished well by all right-thinking people, investigated to death by the scientific community and a piece appears in the worlds leading science journal saying its time to move on, then its time to move on.

The question of course is, move on to what? Those books by scientists dissing Darwin offer their own clever ideas, but so far the scientific community isnt buying any of them. All the new ideas self-organization, facilitated variation, symbiosis, complexity theory, and more are quickly concluded to be nonstarters, to have the same problems as Darwins theory, or both. In the absence of an acceptable replacement and because of its usefulness as a defensive talking point in fending off skepticism from the public intellectual inertia maintains Darwinism as textbook orthodoxy.

Actually, for Darwinism, the situation is even worse thanthat. Books by Behe, and other ID theorists doing an independent of audit of evolutionary thinking, find devastating faults in the theory.

But hold on, the critics have their responses to the ID proponents. They say Behe never answers their rebuttals! As a trio of prominent scientist authors, Nathan Lents, Joshua Swamidass, and Richard Lenski,wrotein the journalSciencelast year in reply Dr. Behes bookDarwin Devolves(emphasis added):

That sounds pretty bad. He ignores critics. He double down on his claims that have already been refuted. He fails to engage. Behes purported unresponsiveness was one of the main themes of the attack by Lents et al. Surely the cat is safe after all. It is on the operating table. It may be under veterinary anesthesia but is expected to recover just fine. Right?

Unfortunately for Darwins partisans, no. Dear Sir or Madam, we regret to inform you of the passing of your pet theory. Claims that Mike Behe doesnt answer critics are massively refuted now with the publication of his new book. It is556 pages of answers to critics, all written with Behes customary wit and rigor. The chapters cover the range of criticisms that have been aimed at his books. Some, including devastating answers to Lents, Swamidass, and Lenski, were published first by us here atEvolution News.

This giant book is among the strongest indicators yet that the cat is dead. The public hasnt been informed yet and evolution theorys loyal defenders are in denial. Its just a matter of time, though. Michael Behe demonstrates as much inA Mousetrap for Darwin.Order your copy now!

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#7 Story of 2020: Darwin Is on the Roof - Discovery Institute