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Reflections on Biological Evolution

Charles Darwin caricature

Modern evolutionary theory is at a crossroads. The so-called Neo-Darwinian synthesis has proven to be a colossal failure as an explanation of the manifold phenomena of biological evolution, this despite increasingly boisterous pronouncements to the contrary. Inspired by an ever-growing number of biologists acknowledging major problems in the Darwinian paradigm— such as its inability to explain the origin of instincts or the loss of functional structures in cave-dwelling animals — Christian fundamentalists would have us turn back the clock and reinstate Genesis as the standard by which the paleontological record is to be measured and understood.

The crisis affecting modern evolutionary theory is best illustrated, perhaps, by recent attempts to teach Creationist "science" or Intelligent Design theory alongside Darwin's theory in America's high-schools.

The following essays address these profoundly important issues.

• "On Whales and Creationism" discusses recent findings from the paleontological record which contradict the fundamentalist position.
• "On Racial Memory" (PDF) represents a case study documenting fundamental flaws in the Neo-Darwinian theory of evolution.
• "Viva Lamarck" (PDF) offers an historical overview of Lamarckian theories of evolution.