In a universe of non-living space and matter, life is incredibly rare. And in order to stay alive, humans and other organisms have to overcome a myriad of engineering challenges. Just how is this done? And more to the point, is an evolutionary process capable of producing the solutions to these many challenges? On a new episode of ID the Future, I conclude my conversation with Dr. Howard Glicksman, co-author with engineer Steve Laufmann of the new book Your Amazing Body. The book explores some of your body’s greatest marvels, including how your hearing and vision work, how you coordinate your movements, and — perhaps the greatest miracle of them all — how you developed from a single cell at conception.
In Part 1 of this conversation, Dr. Glicksman set the stage by contrasting unguided material causes (Darwinism) with intentional intelligent causes, emphasizing that intelligent design better explains the intricate, interdependent coherence found within the human body. He also mentioned how fruitful it is to bring together engineers and biologists to study life using principles from engineering instead of reductionist frameworks.
In Part 2, we dive into some examples of the countless challenges life must overcome:
- Maintaining a distinct equilibrium separate from the environment
- Maintaining a functioning cell membrane to protect cell contents
- Maintaining the ion concentration gradient inside and outside the cell
- Controlling the supply and distribution of oxygen and glucose
- Controlling water levels to ensure proper cell function
- Regulating electrolytes for optimal organ function
- Controlling toxin levels, including CO2 and iron
- Maintaining core body temperature
- Maintaining effective respiration surface area
- Placenta formation (during pregnancy)
- Bypassing non-functional lungs (during pregnancy)
- Post-natal system conversion (after pregnancy)
Throughout the conversation, Dr. Glicksman argues that Darwinian processes cannot adequately explain the phenomenal engineering and complex, interdependent systems required to develop and maintain life.
Download the podcast or listen to it here. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Listen to Part 1 or watch it below!
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- Watch Part 1 of this conversation below: