Darwinism: Where is the theory?

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The discussion centers on the validity and completeness of Darwinism as a scientific theory, sparked by David Berlinski's critique questioning its theoretical foundations. Berlinski argues that while adaptations can be observed, Darwinism fails to derive these from general principles, challenging its status as a robust scientific theory. In contrast, forum participants defend Darwinism, asserting that substantial evidence exists across numerous publications, countering Berlinski's claims of ignorance in the face of new knowledge. The debate highlights the polarized views on Darwinism and the implications of its terminology.

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This discussion is beneficial for biologists, science educators, and anyone interested in the philosophical and scientific debates surrounding evolutionary theory and its critiques.

bluemoonKY
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I recently watched a debate between believers and non-believers in Darwinism, and David Berlinski made some pithy remarks for the non-believers in Darwinism. I am going to make some of his points and ask some of the questions he asked in this thread.

David Berlinski says that he agrees with Darwinists that things change, but he asks where is the theory of Darwinism beyong having a name? Berlinski says it's always easy to persuage yourself that you've understood something when you haven't understood a thing. The issue before us is not whether retroactively we can explain an adaptation, but whether we can draw that adaptation from general principles. This is what Darwinian theory cannot do, and this is the requirement of normal science.

So, I ask, where is the theory?
 
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Thread locked for a number of reasons. David Berlinski is a crackpot who sees every bit of added evidence as doubling the amount we don't know. There's no winning a debate with someone who sees adding knowledge as adding ignorance. The Discovery Institute for which he works is crackpot central. The term Darwinism is derogatory, implying that biologists pray at the idol of Darwin. "Where is the theory"? Everywhere. The evidence is overwhelming and fills multiple books, multiple journals. This final point breaks last straw. On any internet forum, it is inappropriate to ask a question that requires us to write a book (or in this case, a huge chunk of a library) as an answer.
 
As child, before I got my first X-ray, I used to fantasize that I might have a mirror image anatomy - my heart on the right, my appendix on the right. Why not? (Caveat: I'm not talking about sci-fi molecular-level mirroring. We're not talking starvation because I couldn't process certain proteins, etc.) I'm simpy tlakng about, when a normal zygote divides, it technically has two options which way to form. Oen would expcet a 50:50 split. But we all have our heart on the left and our...

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