Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution
by Michael J. Behe
List Price:
Our Price: $8.40
You Save: $7.59 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.43 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Michael J. BeheBrand: Simon & Schuster
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-03-07
ISBN: 0743290313
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Free Press
Accessories:
- The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
- The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
Book Reviews of Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution
Book Review: "Expelled"...For a Good Reason!
Summary: 1 Stars
Don't buy the hype. Evolution isn't a theory in crisis. Evolutionary theory is the most successful scientific theory currently available. Behe's idea of "irreducible complexity", which he defines as "a single system composed of several well-matched interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, where in the removal any one of the parts causes the system to cease functioning", is the most recent creationist argument against evolution. Unfortunately for Behe, irreducible complexity is only an argument against his own misconceived caricature of evolution theory, not the rigorous theory utilized by biologists across the globe.
In his book Behe provides the bacterial flagellum as an example of irreducible complexity. He maintains that the removal of any of the many protein subunits that compose the bacterial flagellum will result in its complete loss of function. Shortly after Behe's book was published, scientists discovered a bacterial organelle, the type III secretion apparatus, that was composed of a combination of some, but not all the proteins of the bacterial flagellum. It seems that Behe didn't take into account that systems of interacting parts can change function as parts are added or taken away. If components of the supposedly irreducibly complex bacterial flagellum are taken away, it may lose function as a flagellum, but it functions perfectly well as the type III secretion apparatus.
Behe didn't take into account a fundamental premise of evolutionary theory, that through natural selection new functions are discovered for preexisting structures. As described by François Jacob in 1977, evolution acts as a tinkerer, not an engineer. The mammalian inner ear bones are known to have evolved from jaw bones of mammalian ancestors, for example. As the proteins that compose the bacterial flagellum were slowly cobbled together by evolutionary processes, the intermediate stages need not, and most likely didn't, function as a flagellum.
Behe's "irreducible complexity" is not repairable. Evolutionary theory already provides mechanisms that produce supposedly irreducibly complex systems. Even if an organ was discovered that could be proven to be irreducibly complex, that would only be evidence against natural selection, not evidence in favor of Intelligent Design. Genetic drift is one evolutionary mechanism that allows evolving lineages to explore "adaptive landscapes" and discover new adaptive possibilities that would have been invisible to natural selection alone. Irreducible complexity is a failed negative argument against evolutionary theory, not a positive argument in favor of Intelligent Design.
For those reading this review that are actually interested in how evolutionary processes have produced the diversity of life we see in nature, I recommend Climbing Mount Improbable, The Blind Watchmaker, and The Ancestors Tale by Richard Dawkins and Endless Forms Most Beautiful and The Making of the Fittest by Sean B. Carroll. These books are easy to read and full of amazing examples of evolution in action and the power of evolutionary theory. Behe's ideas have been expelled from the scientific community, for good reason!
Climbing Mount ImprobableThe Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without DesignThe Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of EvolutionEndless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo DevoThe Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution
More Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review
Health, Mind & Body Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Health, Mind & Body Books
Obedience to Authority: An Experimental Viewby Stanley Milgram
Harpercollins; Published: 1974-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $532.97
Emily's Reasons Why Not: A Novelby Carrie Gerlach
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2005-05-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Truth & Beautyby Ann Patchett
HarperAudio; Published: 2004-05-11; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $3.26
Price in other shops:
She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Womanby Ian Kerner
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2009-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.06
Price in other shops:
My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderersby Helen Morrison, Harold Goldberg
William Morrow; Published: 2004-05-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.97
Price in other shops:
Nutrition: Science and Applicationsby Lori A. Smolin
Harcourt College Pub; Published: 1996-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $30.50
Price in other shops:
Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Partyby Patty Sachs, Phyllis Cambria
Alpha; Published: 2000-10-12; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops:
Complete Idiot's Guide to Walking for Healthby Erika Peters
Alpha; Published: 2001-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $48.55
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Stressby Jeffrey P.; Davidson, Jeff Davidson
Macmillan Distribution; Published: 1996; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.33
Diving-Bell and the Butterflyby Jean-Dominique Bauby
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2002-05-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.01
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literatureby Wilfred Guerin, Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne Reesman, John Willingham
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2010-02-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $40.00
Price in other shops:
God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design Is It Anyway?by John C. Lennox
Lion UK; Published: 2011-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.29
Price in other shops:
Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe (The Proceedings of the Wethersfield Institute Vol. 9)by Michael Behe
Ignatius Press; Ignatius Press; Published: 2000-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.20
Price in other shops:
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillmentby George Leonard
Plume; Published: 1992-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
Evolution: A Theory In Crisisby Michael Denton
Adler & Adler; Published: 1986-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops:
The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensionsby David Berlinski
Basic Books; Published: 2009-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinismby Michael J. Behe
Free Press; Published: 2008-06-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops:
Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution Is Wrongby Jonathan Wells
Regnery Publishing; Published: 2002-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.36
Price in other shops:
Darwin on Trialby Phillip E. Johnson
IVP Books; Published: 2010-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.91
Price in other shops:
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Designby Stephen C. Meyer
HarperOne; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.35
Price in other shops: