Michael Behe Opens a Black Box for Christmas

Episode 1278 December 09, 2019 00:23:20
Michael Behe Opens a Black Box for Christmas
Intelligent Design the Future
Michael Behe Opens a Black Box for Christmas

Dec 09 2019 | 00:23:20

/

Show Notes

On this episode of ID the Future, Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe discusses the closing sections of his new book Darwin Devolves: The New Science about DNA That Challenges Evolution. He compares evolutionary biology in Darwin’s time and today to the world of astronomy before and after the telescope was invented.

The cell was a black box to Darwin and his contemporaries. Today we can explore that black box like never before, much better even than even two decades ago, allowing us to observe what evolution can actually do at the molecular level. According to Behe, the answer is, not much. Evolution can create niche advantages by breaking certain things, but it doesn’t build fundamentally new structures or new machines. That’s because it can’t do what mind can do. It can’t purposefully arrange things. Behe and host Andrew McDiarmid discuss what it might mean for origins science to again recognize, and allow room in its explanatory toolkit for, the unique causal powers of mind. Finally, Behe reflects on his critics’ confident predictions that they’d have the evidence to refute his groundbreaking book Darwin’s Black Box within 20 years. It’s now been 20 years, so where does the score stand? Please consider donating to support the IDTF Podcast.

Other Episodes

Episode 1896

May 01, 2024 01:29:50
Episode Cover

Stephen Meyer on Isaac Newton and the Scientific Revolution

On this ID The Future, we're pleased to bring you a longer-form conversation between philosopher of science Dr. Stephen Meyer and Rice University chemist...

Listen

Episode 2159

January 10, 2026 00:25:04
Episode Cover

Sex: A Spicy Problem for Evolutionary Theory

Sexual reproduction ought to be a recipe for evolutionary disaster. It's a waste of resources producing no short-term advantages. It demands an entirely different...

Listen

Episode 1802

September 20, 2023 00:23:23
Episode Cover

The Engineering Prowess of the Blood Clotting Cascade

The vertebrate blood coagulation system is a delicately regulated marvel that helps maintain the integrity of the circulatory system. Over 20 years ago, Michael...

Listen