^TagDarwinism

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
November 27, 2023

Categorized
Information Theory

Tagged
Biology, Computers, Darwinism, Evolution, evolving systems, Information Theory, Randomness, teleological view of nature, telos}

Directed Goals in Living and Evolving Systems

_{Nearly every action that an organism does is for something.} _{Jonathan Bartlett

November 27, 2023

9

Information Theory}

Teleology is the technical term for goal-directedness, especially when describing living systems. Teleology has been problematic in the sciences because of the amount of hand-waving that teleology has historically allowed. From the outside, it is difficult to tell if something happened because it was intended or if it just happened to be beneficial. Determining the precise goal can be problematic, even if an action is goal-directed. It is easy to construct a story about why an organism does an action, but how do we ascertain whether this story is true? When are attributions of teleology science, and when does it degenerate to mere invention? Additionally, the lack of ability to measure goal-directedness has often placed teleology in the realm of storytelling instead of science. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 26, 2023

Categorized
Evolution, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Ann Gauger, Blaise Pascal, Catholicism, Catholicism and Darwinism, Darwinism, G. K. Chesterton, God's Grandeur (Discovery Institute Press 2023)), H. G. Wells, Hilaire Belloc, Scott Ventureyra, The Everlasting Man (book 1925)}

New Book Looks at Design in Nature From a Catholic Viewpoint

_{Catholic thinkers who reject Darwinism don’t focus so much on its claims about universal common descent as on its utter inability to account coherently for the human mind} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 26, 2023

5

Evolution, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

Popular lore, misleading as it so often is, holds that Catholics are “okay with evolution.” Some are, to be sure. But few observant Catholics believe that human beings naturally evolved from the slime without any divine initiative. The great philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) offered five proofs of the existence of God. The fifth one was: The Argument from Design: All things have an order or arrangement that leads them to a particular goal. Because the order of the universe cannot be the result of chance, design and purpose must be at work. This implies divine intelligence on the part of the designer. This is God. “Aquinas’s Five Proofs for the Existence of God.” In The Catholic Faith Handbook Read More ›

Tower of Babel, Abstract Painting. Cubism

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
October 3, 2023

Categorized
Science

Tagged
Acton Institute, Babel, Darwinism, David Berlinksi, Jay Richards, science, Science After Babel (book), Scientism}

A New Review for Berlinksi’s Latest Book

_{Despite the wonders of the scientific enterprise, it is run by humans, and is thus fallible.} _{News

October 3, 2023

5

Science}

By David Klinghoffer By now the authority of science has been thoroughly abused. For that, you can thank scientists themselves, their promoters in government bodies and in university PR departments, and the legions of loyal pilot fish in popular and social media. Something really came undone in the Covid era. Today, the phrase “science says” or “doctors say” prompts a smirk from about half the population, and rightly so. To capture this reality, mathematician David Berlinski in his latest book, Science After Babel, evokes the image of Bruegel’s Tower of Babel — a bloated, vain enterprise, in denial of its own failings. The ancients saw science, and the other arts, as embodied by muses — beautiful young women. We may picture something more Read More ›

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 25, 2022

Tagged
AI swarm, Algorithms, Animal Algorithms, Animal Algorithms (book), Ants, Darwinian evolution, Darwinism, Eric Cassell, Evolution, genetic entropy, Homing Pigeon, Ingenious Instincts, Insects, Monarch Butterfly, Navigational Cues, Orphan Genes, Path Integration, Pheromone, Polarization, Sun Polarization, Swarm intelligence, trail pheromone, World War I, World War II}

Animal Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence

_{Robert J. Marks

August 25, 2022

1}

Did you know that animals have built-in algorithms? Some of these amazing algorithms allow animals to migrate to new places and navigate back to previous locations. Insects also have a wide variety of fascinating social behaviors. Where did they come from? Eric Cassell, author of Animal Algorithms, discusses animal algorithms, artificial intelligence, instincts, and irreducible complexity with Robert J. Marks. Read More ›

Isolated Low Poly graphic design of . Eagles -3d rendering.

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
January 6, 2022

Tagged
Algorithms, Animal Algorithms, Darwinian evolution, Darwinism, Eric Cassell, Evolution, Homing Pigeon, Monarch Butterfly, Navigational Cues, Path Integration, Polarization, Robert J. Marks, Sun Polarization, World War I, World War II}

The Astonishing Algorithms That Allow Animals to Navigate & Migrate

_{Robert J. Marks

January 6, 2022

1}

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure to perform a specific task. We usually think of algorithms as being performed by computers. Did you know that animals have built-in algorithms of their own? Some of these amazing algorithms allow animals to migrate to new places and navigate back to previous locations. Eric Cassell discusses his new book, Animal Algorithms, with Robert Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
July 11, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Religion, Science

Tagged
Casey Luskin, Darwinism, Demon-Haunted World (book), Featured, Marxism, Richard Lewontin}

Remembering a Biologist’s Remarkable Confession of Faith

_{Is it scientific misconduct to make science about materialist atheism?} _{Michael Egnor

July 11, 2021

6

Philosophy, Religion, Science}

My friend and colleague Casey Luskin has penned a poignant essay in memory of Richard Lewontin, a Harvard evolutionary biologist who passed away at 92 recently. Casey is a gentleman and a scholar, and very much disposed to finding the best in people. Indeed it seems there was much that was very good in Lewontin’s persona, and Casey highlighted it beautifully in his encomium. I am not of the opinion, however, that we should speak only good of the dead. The passing of a public figure is a good time to consider his impact, and Lewontin’s impact on American culture and science is something very much worth considering. By all accounts, Lewontin was a gentleman and a good friend and Read More ›

Cell abstract concept. Microorganisms under microscope

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
November 2, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
Cell (biology), Daniel Dennett, Darwinism, Michael Levin, mind, Naturalism}

Are Our Minds Just an Extension of the Minds of Our Cells?

_{A prominent philosopher and a well-known biologist make the case, offering an illustration} _{News

November 2, 2020

6

Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Science}

Naturalism, the idea that physical nature is all there is, can lead us down some strange paths. In the words of prominent philosopher Daniel Dennett and prominent biologist Michael Levin, both of Tufts University, the road to “biology’s next great horizon” is the attempt to “understand cells, tissues and organisms as agents with agendas (even if unthinking ones).” They think that the principle of natural selection acting on random mutations can create everything, including minds: Thanks to Charles Darwin, biology doesn’t ever have to invoke an ‘intelligent designer’ who created all those mechanisms. Evolution by natural selection has done – and is still doing – all that refining and focusing and differentiating work. We’re all just physical mechanisms made of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Holloway
Date
October 13, 2020

Categorized
Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Beetles, Blind Watchmaker (book), Cicadas, Darwinism, Dragonflies, Featured, Fireflies, Humies, Insects, Invisibility, Light (manipulation of light), Materials technology, Richard Dawkins, Technology}

Technology? Hey, Bugs Invented It All Before Us!

_{Do bugs really show no evidence of design? Computer engineers can test that} _{Eric Holloway

October 13, 2020

5

Natural Intelligence}

Bugs look like little robots, don’t they? Living robots, too, defying our best our attempts to recreate something like them. A 2018 science paper “It’s Not a Bug, It’s a Feature: Functional Materials in Insects” goes into just how amazing these little creatures are from a materials sciences perspective. The paper is open access so you can read it for yourself. But let me also illustrate some of the remarkable “technologies” insects use, captured on video: This bionic “dragonfly” really flies, sort of: But so do billions of wild dragonflies who fly very efficiently, in order to hunt: The range of material capabilities is astonishing. Cicadas have a clicking loudspeaker they use to amplify their racket. Tiger moths have a Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
News
Date
August 13, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Science

Tagged
___longform, Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, god, Intelligent design theory, Jerry Coyne, Jerry Fodor, Materialism, Michael Egnor, Natural selection, Panpsychism, Philosophy, What Darwin Got Wrong (book)}

Why Consciousness Couldn’t Just Evolve from the Mud

_{Kastrup, a panpsychist, is sympathetic to the basic intuitions behind the idea that there is design in nature (intelligent design theory)} _{News

August 13, 2020

10

Philosophy of Mind, Science}

In a recent podcast, “Does the Moon Exist if No One is Looking at It?”, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor interviewed philosopher and computer programmer Bernardo Kastrup. Dr. Kastrup has been, in Dr. Egnor’s words, “leading a modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism”—that is, reality is essentially mental rather than physical. Read More ›

Incognito warrior in iron helmet and red cloak.

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
August 3, 2020

Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
___longform, Aristocracy, Aristotle, Darwinism, democracy, Edward Feser, Featured, government, Hannah Arendt, Karl Marx, Mob rule, Oligarchy, Plato, Republic (book), soul, Spirit, Timocracy, totalitarianism, Tyranny}

What would Plato Say About Antifa? Or Darwin?

_{A careful reading of Plato and Arendt goes a long way toward explaining the current scene—but it is unsettling reading} _{Michael Egnor

August 3, 2020

8

Ethics, Philosophy of Mind}

In college, I hated Plato. We read his Republic, and, as a patriot and an idealistic young (small “d”) democrat, I was appalled at the hegemony of the Guardians and at Plato’s disdain for democracy. It seemed to me that his Guardians were the archetypal totalitarians, and that it was a fundamental human right — enshrined in the Constitution — to be ruled only by consent of the governed. In my dotage, I am more sympathetic to Plato — it’s remarkable how much smarter the old philosopher has gotten in the past 40 years! I am still uncomfortable with Guardians, at least of the secular sort. But I think John Adams got it right when he observed that “our Constitution Read More ›

Spandrels within the interior arches of the Sagrada Familia

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Egnor
Date
February 11, 2020

Categorized
Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Bernardo Kastrup, Consciousness, Darwinism, Evolution, Featured, Jerry Coyne, Spandrel}

Did Consciousness Evolve?: A Darwinist Responds

_{Jerry Coyne argues that consciousness is a mere byproduct of useful traits that are naturally selected. But wait…} _{Michael Egnor

February 11, 2020

6

Philosophy of Mind}

The critical problem that consciousness poses for Darwinian evolution is that there is no survival advantage for subjective first-person existence over objective third-person existence.

Can computers simply evolve greater intelligence?

_{Maybe it sounds attractive but nature doesn't seem to work quite that way} _{Jonathan Bartlett

September 23, 2019

5

Artificial Intelligence}

When the researchers did not develop the right environment for their digital organisms, nothing evolved. As Bill Dembski predicts, they could move design around but they could not eliminate it. Read More ›