A molecular biologist at the University of Chicago by the name of James A. Shapiro (left) recently published a masterly synthetic work which constitutes the most substantial contribution to date to post-Darwinian thinking in contemporary biology.(1)
The volume in question is entitled Evolution: A View from the 21st Century (FT Press, 2011), and it is simply stunning in every respect.
However, Shapiro’s masterpiece is packed with technical detail, and for that reason it may not be as widely read as it ought to be outside of academia. That is why it is so encouraging that Professor Shapiro has decided to publicize the core insights of his work through an ongoing series of short essays—comprising some 15 pieces to date—on Huffington Post’s science blog.
I say I’m “encouraged” by his decision to do this, because the importance of bringing the insights of Shapiro and others to a wider audience can scarecely be exaggerated. Much in our culture depends upon the public’s being made aware that Darwinian theory as standardly interpreted is intellectually bankrupt.(2) And little that I have encountered communicates this fact so well as the work of James A. Shapiro.
I will proceed by first looking at a few of the most significant of Professor Shapiro’s blog posts, and then turning to his magnum opus. More.
Part I is here.