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Richard-Lenski
Richard Lenski, by Zachary Blount [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons
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Conversation Evolves: Richard Lenski Responds to Michael Behe

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Darwin DevolvesPhoto: Richard Lenski, by Zachary Blount [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons.

Yesterday, Michael Behe published his detailed critique of the Science review of his book, Darwin Devolves. See, “Train Wreck of a Review: A Response to Lenski et al. in Science.” 

This morning, Nathan Lents, a co-author of the review, tweeted about a new post by Richard Lenski, by far the most distinguished of the three reviewers for Science, that does what the initial review itself largely failed to do: begin to address Behe’s main argument in the book.

Lenski, in his own words. Definitely worth the read, especially now that Behe has posted a serious and reasoned response (in contrast to the preceding angry rants). We stand by our review, and I’m sure Behe stands by his book. A good day for thoughtful discussion of evolution. https://t.co/SfkJYPJVrr

— Nathan H. Lents (@nathanlents) February 15, 2019

Lenski asks, “Does Behe’s ‘First Rule’ Really Show that Evolutionary Biology Has a Big Problem?” Now that is the question of the hour. Lenski promises two additional posts as well. I’ll leave it to Professor Behe to respond, but I would say this is quite a departure — both for the respectful way in which it’s written, and for its substantive relevance. Yes, Nathan Lents, finally we agree: it is “A good day for thoughtful discussion of evolution.”

Photo: Richard Lenski, by Zachary Blount [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Science and Culture Today
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. He is the author of seven books including Plato’s Revenge: The New Science of the Immaterial Genome and The Lord Will Gather Me In: My Journey to Jewish Orthodoxy. A former senior editor at National Review, he has contributed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications. He received an A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1987. Born in Santa Monica, CA, he lives on Mercer Island, WA.
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