How Blind Is the Watchmaker?: Nature's Design & the Limits of Naturalistic Science [Paperback]

Neil Broom (Author), William A. Dembski (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

If you found a watch, as William Paley asked nearly two centuries ago, would you think that it came into existence by chance or that there was a watchmaker? Likewise, Neil Broom asks, was the universe created by the blind forces of physics and chemistry, or is there evidence in nature of a designing mind?While prominent scientists in recent years have suggested that the watchmaker is indeed blind, Broom, a biomechanics scientist, sees much more than their naturalistic blinders allow them to perceive. His book How Blind Is the Watchmaker? boldly challenges the scientific establishment's commitment to what he labels as "the flimsily crafted but persuasively packaged myth of scientific materialism."Broom reveals how naturalistic science is guilty of attempting to reduce all explanations to the molecular level, even when higher nonmaterial levels of explanation are clearly required to describe the behavior of many systems. Likewise he shows why there is little chance that science can define life in a way that seamlessly connects it to the inanimate world. Broom also uncovers the rarely discussed or acknowledged assumptions that raise serious questions about the limits of a purely naturalistic approach to the problem of life's genesis. In a clear and readable style, he considers the recent research about the origin of life and the function of RNA, DNA and proteins. Further, he exposes how scientists often attribute "personal" characteristics to inanimate molecules. And he shows why postulating billions of years for various natural processes does not adequately explain inadequacies in evolutionary scenarios.This thought-provoking book (a thoroughly revised and updated edition of the volume originally published by Ashgate) points beyond the poverty of many scientific pronouncements and builds a robust case for viewing the true splendor of our living world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Broom, a biomaterials engineer writing from a Christian perspective, makes a spirited but ungainly case against Darwinism as he defends a return of purpose and intentionality to biological explanation. The book's most helpful material is found in chapters four through seven where Broom reviews life-origins research, comparing the failure or limited success of most studies with widespread and extravagant claims in the "pop science" realm that the basic problem of biogenesis has been solved. The second half of Broom's treatise takes a turn for the worse as the subject matter shifts from specific research results to evolutionary theory and the philosophy of biology, a conceptual thicket where careful distinctions and judicious arguments become crucially important. In this section, Broom's lack of sympathy for his opponents often colors his presentation of their arguments; in some cases it is unclear whether he has really understood them. An uncharitable reading of Darwinism lures him into a tendentious and muddled argument about natural selection in which he seems to be forcing Darwinists to interpret the metaphor of "selection" in terms of literal intentionan interpretation any orthodox or neo-Darwinist is bound to disavow. Readers looking for an accessible critique of Darwinism and scientific materialism will fare better with Phillip Johnson's The Wedge of Truth (also from IVP), which offers clearer arguments and more sure-footed reasoning as it covers much of the same ground.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press; 2 edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830822968
• ISBN-13: 978-0830822966
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much blather, not enough evidence., September 9, 2001

By 

David Marshall - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Blind Is the Watchmaker?: Nature's Design & the Limits of Naturalistic Science (Paperback)

There are some good things in this book: the appendix, in which the author retells the story of science through the lives of Bacon, Descartes, Brahe, Pascal, Kepler, Galileo, and the rest; the illustrations, including the authors own photos and cartoons (the fossilized Spitfire was pretty funny); and even an occasion telling argument. But unfortunately, specific, detailed evidence to back up the main points is one of the things the book is short on. Broom contradicts the first principle of expository writing: show it, don't just say it. He repeatedly asserts that natural selection doesn't make sense in a materialistic world, that early life experiments are unrealistic, and so on, but gives few specifics. He blathers on with philosophy and repetition of his main points when he should be backing them up with hard scientific facts, figures, and specific evidence. His overall argument may be right, (though I'm not quite sure I know what it is, exactly) and certainly some of his points make sense to me, but they are poorly developed.

I wish you well, Dr. Broom. But you'll need more than cartoons and bald assertion if you want to overthrow a theory of origins as widely accepted as Darwinism.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The quality of the arguments is not consistent, April 20, 2002

By 

Joshua V. Schneider (Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Blind Is the Watchmaker?: Nature's Design & the Limits of Naturalistic Science (Paperback)

"How Blind is the Watchmaker?" is an attempt to show the intricate complexity of design in nature, and expose the weaknesses of the naturalistic Neo-Darwinian paradigm. Unfortunately, the arguments vary in their consistency and ability to convince. I agree with the editorial review that the strongest portion of the book is in the sections overviewing the investigation of the origin of life, and that in other places Broom is prone to caricature the beliefs of Darwinists. There is a lot of interesting information presented in the book, and Broom does a good job of explaining the complexity of life, however, his arguments tend to have some holes in them. I did expect more of a response to Richard Dawkin's book "The Blind Watchmaker," but he did do a good, brief job of deconstructing several of Dawkin's analogies and simulations of evolution. There are better reads available on the same topics of intelligent design and evolution, that are better thought-out and more convincing. To name a few: "Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil," "Wedge of Truth," and for a rigorous analysis of origins of life research, "The Mystery of Life's Origin." If you do decide to read "How Blind is the Watchmaker?", you can glean some good information, while stepping around the weaker argumentation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An argument for vitalism falls short, November 16, 2008

By 

Arnie Berg (Saskatchewan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Blind Is the Watchmaker?: Nature's Design & the Limits of Naturalistic Science (Paperback)

I write as one who believes in intentional divine action beyond scientific discernment, thus I find much in Broom's book for which to be positive, but also some concerns. I strongly endorse the amount of research effort and scientific insight that exudes from the pages of this book. Broom's frequent references to the late little-known Christian philosopher Michael Polanyi certainly elevate his contributions to thought in science. Particularly strong are the chapters on dealing with the limits of scientific knowledge. "Science may be tempted to conclude that, because it cannot by its own methods see any `big picture,' there is no big picture to be found. When this happens, it is guilty of straying from its legitimate mission."

Also particularly helpful is the detail of explanatory demonstrations of scientific phenomena, such as the operation of DNA/RNA within the cell and biological `machines', chaos theory and self-organizing complexity, and the operation of photosynthesis, all well illustrated.

Where I feel Broom strays from a position of strength is in the main hypothesis that he advances, that biological life exhibits a `prolife principle', also referred to as a drive to achieve or survive. Broom unapologetically refers to this as vitalism, a property inherent in life that gives it a teleological framework. Although his observation is correct, it is very easy to argue that there is a survival advantage to this behavior, and it should come as no surprise to anyone with even a limited understanding of evolutionary development that this instinct is more likely to be conferred in the life that survives.

Although this book brings a fresh perspective from the usual Intelligent Design staple, it falls short of a truly satisfying understanding of the relationship between science and faith. The true strength of this book is simply identifying materialism as a false god based on an over-reaching science.