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Peter Corning

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Photo credit: Hector Alejandro, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Is Intelligent Design Gaining the Upper Hand?

The underlying dynamic here is one of fear — fear of being associated with a movement one cannot easily dispel through evidence and argument. Read More ›
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Image: Fox and hares, Japanese fine prints, pre-1915, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

From Materialist Biologists, a Profound Capitulation

I have warned that one of the few remaining avenues that naturalism can take to rescue its paradigm is to appropriate “purpose” within a materialist framework. Read More ›
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Photo credit: Ed Siasoco (aka SC Fiasco), CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Peter Corning and the Taint of Vitalism

As the insightful work of Corning and others has shown, the vitalist/mechanist debate in biology is nowhere near over. If anything, it’s just getting started. Read More ›
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Photo credit: U.S. Department of the Interior, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Nature in the Image of Man: Introducing the New Social Darwinism 

Always, the initial social/intellectual change has come first, and the scientific paradigm shift has followed after. Read More ›
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Image: Mount Etna, by Edward Lear, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Settled Science Is Becoming Radically Unsettled: Get Ready for Revolutions

It might be early to say whether Richard Sternberg's calculations are correct — but the point is, this kind of calculation is only just becoming possible. Read More ›
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Image credit: Ernst Haeckel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Revenge of the Turtle Lady 

You’ve probably heard the story about the old lady who tells a Famous Professor that the world is actually sitting on the back of giant turtle.  Read More ›
human cells
Image credit: ZEISS Microscopy from Germany, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Is Vitalism Making a Comeback? 

For proponents of ID, there is a natural temptation to respond to this sort of explanation with derision. I suspect this reaction may be short-sighted. Read More ›
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Image credit: lisichik, via Pixabay.

Another Call for a “New Synthesis”

I recently wrote a post critical of biologist Peter Corning’s “synergism hypothesis.” Afterwards Dr. Corning got in touch. Read More ›
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Close-up of a bacterium under a microscope, with vivid purple and pink colors highlighting cellular details.
Image Credit: SmirkDingo - Adobe Stock

Was God a Bacterium? 

We should acknowledge that this theory is, unlike some similar attempts, at least an actual solution: if true, it would explain how complex life evolved. Read More ›
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Photo: Emperor penguins, by Denis Luyten, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Synergies All the Way Down 

Examples of synergy cited by Peter Corning include multicellularity; sexual reproduction; emperor penguins huddling together for warmth.  Read More ›

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