Darwin's doubt : the explosive origin of animal life and the case for intelligent design /
Meyer, Stephen C.,author.
Braun, Ray,illustrator.
Charles Darwin knew that there was a significant event in the history of life that his theory did not explain. In what is known today as the "Cambrian explosion," 530 million years ago many animals suddenly appeared in the fossil record without apparent ancestors in earlier layers of rock. In Darwin's Doubt Stephen C. Meyer tells the story of the mystery surrounding this explosion of animal life -- a mystery that has intensified, not only because the expected ancestors of these animals have not been found, but also because scientists have learned more about what it takes to construct an animal. Expanding on the compelling case he presented in his last book, Signature in the Cell, Meyer argues that the theory of intelligent design -- which holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection -- is ultimately the best explanation for the origin of the Cambrian animals. - Back cover.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 454-480) and index.
The mystery of the missing fossils -- Darwin's nemesis -- The Burgess bestiary -- Soft bodies and hard facts -- The not missing fossils? -- The genes tell the story? -- The animal tree of life -- Punk eek! -- How to build an animal -- The Cambrian information explosion -- Combinatorial inflation -- The origin of genes and proteins -- Assume a gene -- Complex adaptations and the neo-Darwinian math -- The origin of body plans -- The epigenetic revolution -- After Darwin, what? -- The post-Darwinian world and self-organization -- Other post-neo-Darwinian models -- The possibility of intelligent design -- Signs of design in the Cambrian explosion -- The rules of science -- What's at stake.
Charles Darwin knew that there was a significant event in the history of life that his theory did not explain. In what is known today as the "Cambrian explosion," 530 million years ago many animals suddenly appeared in the fossil record without apparent ancestors in earlier layers of rock. In Darwin's Doubt Stephen C. Meyer tells the story of the mystery surrounding this explosion of animal life -- a mystery that has intensified, not only because the expected ancestors of these animals have not been found, but also because scientists have learned more about what it takes to construct an animal. Expanding on the compelling case he presented in his last book, Signature in the Cell, Meyer argues that the theory of intelligent design -- which holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection -- is ultimately the best explanation for the origin of the Cambrian animals. - Back cover.
Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
Life
Evolution (Biology)
Intelligent design (Teleology)