Re: Can you be objective about evolution?

Tim Ikeda (timi@mendel.Berkeley.EDU)
Thu, 9 May 1996 13:26:06 -0800

Loren writes to Jim Bell...

[....]
>Actually, the reason "evolutionists here don't post arguments against
>evolution" is far more boring than you might think.
[...]
>The "weakest points" of macroevolutionary theory (origin of novelty,
>origin of complexity, speed of appearance of new forms during times such
>as the pre-Cambrian explosion) are well known and generally agreed upon,
>and they've been repeatedly mentioned in this group by both sides. [...]

Indeed, these are the same points I've seen in most of the evolutionary
literature. There is a book I've been trying to get my hands on for
some time now. It's George C. Williams' _Natural selection: domains,
levels, and challenges_ (N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1992). It
received very good reviews in _Science_ and _Nature_ and part of the
book seems to be focused on unresolved issues in evolution (Even
"Haldane's dilemma" is said to be there...). I think it would
definitely be worth checking out.

Regards, Tim Ikeda (timi@mendel.berkeley.edu)