Evolutionary events are, as Theodosius Dobzhansky put it, “unique, unrepeatable, and irreversible.” And so evolution is an idea with more theorizing than hard facts. It is more of a narrative than a theory. Here is a typical example:  Read more

Greg Conterio, echoing Robert Bidinotto, makes the point that culture war differences often pit the facts versus the narrative. The facts can win every battle but the narrative wins the war. As Bidinotto puts it, “One of the most valuable insights I discovered in recent years is how Narratives trump everything else — including what most of us would call concern for ‘practical results.’” Conterio and Bidinotto are mainly concerned with political issues, but what lies behind their insight is our beliefs about origins.  Read more

Making new genes is not easy. For several decades now it has been thought that the only process for gene construction is to start by duplicating an existing gene and then making adjustments to it (it is not the only process, but that is another story). Naturally evolutionists interpreted this duplication process as another example of an evolutionary mechanism. What they don’t consider, however, is how subtle this process is.  Read more

In my Not Merely False post I made the following statement. It is not possible even in principle to account for mental facts . . . on the basis of physical facts. For anyone who has read Thomas Nagel’s Mind and Cosmos, this phraseology should be familiar, because the idea for the post came from that book. Yes, I am basing an assertion on the writings of a materialist author (albeit one who is uncommonly honest about the shortcomings of materialism). In response Graham2 wrote: If you people insist on such vague, slippery terms such as a ‘mental fact’ then these discussions are pretty pointless. What on earth is a ‘mental fact’ ? By “you people” I suppose Graham2 is Read More ›

According to a report from The Times earlier this year, policy makers in Britain are attempting to enforce AGW   Read more