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Michael J. Behe

The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism Hardcover – June 5, 2007

by Michael J. Behe (Author)

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When Michael J. Behe's first book, Darwin's Black Box, was published in 1996, it launched the intelligent design movement. Critics howled, yet hundreds of thousands of readers and a growing number of scientists were intrigued by Behe's claim that Darwinism could not explain the complex machinery of the cell.

Now, in his long-awaited follow-up, Behe presents far more than a challenge to Darrwinism: He presents the evidence of the genetics revolution the first direct evidence of nature's mutational pathways to radically redefine the debate about Darwinism.

How much of life does Darwin's theory explain? Most scientists believe it accounts for everything from the machinery of the cell to the history of life on earth. Darwin's ideas have been applied to law, culture, and politics.

But Darwin's theory has been proven only in one sense: There is little question that all species on earth descended from a common ancestor. Overwhelming anatomical, genetic, and fossil evidence exists for that claim. But the crucial question remains: How did it happen? Darwin's proposed mechanism- random mutation and natural selection- has been accepted largely as a matter of faith and deduction or, at best, circumstantial evidence. Only now, thanks to genetics, does science allow us to seek direct evidence. The genomes of many organisms have been sequenced, and the machinery of the cell has been analyzed in great detail. The evolutionary responses of microorganisms to antibiotics and humans to parasitic infections have been traced over tens of thousands of generations.

As a result, for the first time in history Darwin's theory can be rigorously evaluated. The results are shocking. Although it can explain marginal changes in evolutionary history, random mutation and natural selection explain very little of the basic machinery of life. The "edge" of evolution, a line that defines the border between random and nonrandom mutation, lies very far from where Darwin pointed. Behe argues convincingly that most of the mutations that have defined the history of life on earth have been nonrandom.

Although it will be controversial and stunning, this finding actually fits a general pattern discovered by other branches of sciences in recent decades: The universe as a whole was fine-tuned for life. From physics to cosmology to chemistry to biology , life on earth stands revealed as depending uponan endless series of unlikely events. The clear conclusion: The universe was designed for life.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Free Press
Publication date

June 5, 2007
Dimensions

6.75 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

9780743296205
ISBN-13

978-0743296205
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his first book, Darwin's Black Box, Behe, a professor of biology at Lehigh University, helped define the controversial intelligent design movement with his concept of "irreducible complexity." Now he attempts to extend his analysis and define what evolution is capable of doing and what is beyond its scope. Behe strongly asserts, to the likely chagrin of young earth creationists, that the earth is billions of years old and that the concept of common descent is correct. But beginning with a look at malaria and the sickle cell response in humans, Behe argues that genetic mutation results in only clumsy solutions to selective pressures. He goes on to conclude that the statistical possibility of certain evolutionary changes taking place is virtually nil. Although Behe writes with passion and clarity, his calculations of probability ignore biologists' rejection of the premise that evolution has been working toward producing any particular end product. Furthermore, he repeatedly refers to the shortcomings of "Darwin's theory-the power of natural selection coupled to random mutation," but current biological theory encompasses far more than this simplistic view. Most important, Behe reaches the controversial conclusion that the workings of an intelligent designer is the only reasonable alternative to evolution, even without affirmative evidence in its favor.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Michael J. Behe is a Professor of Biological Science at Lehigh University, where he has worked since 1985. From 1978 to 1982 he did postdoctoral work on DNA structure at the National Institutes of Health. From 1982 to 1985 he was Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Queens College in New York City. He has authored more than forty technical papers, but he is best known as the author of Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. He lives near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his wife and nine children.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0743296206
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; 1st edition (June 5, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780743296205
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0743296205
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #205,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #37 in Organic Evolution
- #242 in Biochemistry (Books)
- #314 in Science & Religion (Books)

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256 ratings

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Tom Wilson

Excellent Book! Scientific with correct interpretation.

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018

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First, don't believe all of the negative reviews on this book. The majority of them are just "bashing". From reading the negative reviews it is obvious to me, having read the book, that many negative reviewers didn't actually read the book. Many were clearly personal attacks toward the author and most appeared to be written by angry teenagers or twenty year olds trying to portray themselves as sharp people of the scientific field. Intelligent people don't write negative reviews with that kind of style. Thankfully it is pretty easy to spot trolls that are bashing something that they don't understand.

This book has absolutely NOTHING to do with organized religion. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with disproving an evolutionary process. What it does do is list SCIENTIFIC FACTS that discredit a "Darwinian Evolution" which is driven by random chance. It does PROVE that a Darwinian process fails the scientific test. The book shows that Intelligent Processes from an Intelligent Source had to be in play for the development and advancement of life. Science is facilitated here, there is no hocus pocus involved.

Dr. Behe is a very intelligent person and also a very courageous one for going against the establishment. Armed with logic and more scientific understanding than most, he relays the most reasonable conclusion in the chance vs. intelligence argument. Scientific findings are only as good as their interpretations and Dr. Behe has clearly made the correct interpretations here.

Thank you very much Dr. Behe for having the courage for preserving logic when it isn't cool to practice it anymore.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Phil D

A Balanced Appraisal of Evolutionary Limits

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2016

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In The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism (2007), Michael Behe explores the statistical boundaries of random mutation and natural selection in light of recent scientific discoveries. Behe, who is probably most well known for his advocacy of intelligent design and his bestselling book, Darwin’s Black Box, holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and has over 35 peer-reviewed articles to his credit. He currently serves as a Professor of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University where his research involves delineation of design and natural selection in protein structures.

The Edge of Evolution’s purpose is to provide a “sober appraisal of what Darwinian processes can and cannot do.” It juxtaposes this objective against the notion that Darwinism is an all-or-nothing affair, where one must either accept the entire theory, or dump the baby with the bathwater. On Behe’s view, both avenues are mistaken. In fact, he highlights certain merits of Darwinian theory throughout the book and devotes an entire chapter to “What Darwinism Can Do.” Readers unfamiliar with Behe’s views will quickly learn that he affirms common descent, and also regards random mutation and natural selection as viable explanations of certain natural phenomena. His main thesis, however, concerns the limits of these central Darwinian mechanisms, which mustn’t be ignored in light of compelling scientific data.

To that end, Behe frames his argument within ten chapters which are accessibly-written for a popular audience. While some material is necessarily technical, a corresponding appendix provides a helpful primer, though the main points come through regardless of one’s mastery of the details. Similarly, chapter 1 (“The Elements of Darwinism”) provides sufficient background information with respect to the basic contours of Darwinism, while chapter 2 sets the stage for discussing evolutionary limits by contrasting competing Darwinian paradigms: “Arms Race or Trench Warfare.” The statistical components upon which Behe basis his conclusions receives thorough treatment in chapter 3, “The Mathematical Limits of Darwinism,” while chapters 4 and 5 survey “What Darwinism Can” and “Can’t Do,” respectively. Chapter 6 (“Benchmarks”) defines criteria by which to assess the proposed limits, while chapter 7 delves into their applicability to protein-binding processes. Behe uses chapter 7 to address possible objections to his argument, and then “crosses the edge” in chapters 9 and 10 to explore the implications of nonrandom mutation and the extent to which such considerations apply to the universe at large.

An inherent liability of any popular treatment which tackles technical matters, is the risk of losing an audience, either in a maze of technicalities or through sheer boredom; thus, to be effective, even persuasive data and sound reasoning must be made accessible and engaging. Thankfully for his readers, Behe hits the mark on both counts. Setting the argumentation aside for the moment, The Edge’s greatest strengths are its masterful and frequent use of analogy to illustrate abstract points, along with its appropriate wit and light-hearted humor, which make it truly enjoyable to read. With respect to analogy, it deserves mentioning that Behe is careful not to use it as anything more than a teaching device (i.e., he avoids arguing the analogy). Similarly, and also to his credit, he avoids other common informal fallacies such as attacking strawmen and ad hominems.

Of course, if The Edge was merely an enjoyable read at the expense of cogency, then it would rightly suffer a fate of ineffectiveness. But here again, Behe hits the mark—this time, by way of concrete examples based on credible research and sound mathematical reasoning. For example, he appeals to the work of Oxford malariologist, Nicholas White, in citing that resistance to the anti-malarial drug, chloroquine, requires approximately 10^20 replications of the malarial cell (a factor that Behe refers to as a “chloroquine complexity cluster,” or “CCC”)—a beneficial mutation (from the standpoint of malaria). He further reasons that a cluster which exhibits twice the complexity of CCC (a “double-CCC”) would require 10^40 replications to achieve a beneficial mutation, since the odds against two independent events is the multiple of the odds against each event. Finally, in light of University of Georgia research, which estimates that the entire number of cells throughout Earth’s history is just shy of 10^40, Behe observes that “we have no statistical right to expect that random mutation can include the changes that have been credited to it” beyond the threshold of a double-CCC—the tentative edge of evolution.

Behe also introduces criteria which prove helpful in distinguishing random from nonrandom mutation: steps and coherence. With regard to steps, he observes that if two mutations must occur before conferring a net benefit on an organism, then evolutionary explanations which appeal to merely random mutation encounter significant problems. By way of analogy, Behe invites readers to imagine a single missing step on a stairwell; though a couch potato could likely traverse the obstacle, a frail old man could not. He likens the couch potato in this scenario to malaria, given its ability to figuratively skip steps by virtue of its vast probabilistic resources (i.e., a population size of ~10^20); whereas the frail old man represents humans and large animals, whose population pales in comparison at ~10^9. Citing the observation of evolutionary biologists, Jerry Coyne and Allen Orr—that the goal of a theory is not to determine what is theoretically possible, but what is biologically reasonable—Behe concludes that random mutation is reasonable to a point, but suffers severe limitations when evolution must traverse multiple steps.

Of course, this brief review merely skims the surface of a few key points, though Behe’s insightful project merits a much closer look by readers interested in the possible limits of Darwinian evolution. To that end, The Edge of Evolution is highly recommended for anyone who appreciates an engaging and substantive treatment of a topic that has not only permeated the life sciences, but has overflown into many other aspects of contemporary thought. As mentioned, the style makes this work accessible to a diverse audience, including high school and college students who have perhaps accepted the notion that Darwinian evolution is an unassailable theory that defies all limits.

17 people found this helpful

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Susan Loeffler

Love it!

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019

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I'm still reading the book, so don't have a final opinion, but so far it's fascinating. I read the author's Darwin's Black Box years ago when it was new and it has stuck with me and influenced my thinking ever since.
I was ready to jump into his new book but decided to prepare by reading this "in-between" book first. And I'm glad I did, because as I expected, it is filled with solid scientific explanations in an easy-to-understand presentation.
My background is scientific - a degree in microbiology from many years ago. That means I have a basic understanding but because I didn't work in the field for long, I could never call myself a "scientist." But I still want solid, sensible information, and Dr. Behe does not disappoint. Not only that, but he's fun to read! His intelligent wit makes this a pure joy to dive into.
I send my thanks to Michael Behe, and I definitely plan to re-read his next book too!

5 people found this helpful

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Tucker

Darwinism fails

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2020

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Behe examines the evidence for what random genetic change plus natural selection can accomplish and finds only the most trivial examples of evolutionary change. Could a purposeless, mindless Darwinian process really have built the sophisticated molecular machinery found throughout the biological world? The answer is obvious and undeniable after reading this book.

One person found this helpful

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M. M. Bennett

Good Science rather than biased religion.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2014

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Behe deals with the fact that the concept 'That which survives is that which is fittest to survive' is a tautology that actually begs the question 'How does it work?' rather than explaining anything. His putative solution: design is a realistic possibility that can only be rejected by a previously decided metaphysical perspective rather than dispassionate Science. He points to the contemporary search for the real mechanism that makes things like molecular machines within every cell. Is it design - & hence 'God'? He seems to think so. This is a read if only because it throws serious spanners in complacent, contemporary Scientific convention - out of which nothing new ever evolves. The Edge of Evolution could well mark the dawn of a cutting edge of revolution. Time will tell.

A serious read for serious Science readers.

2 people found this helpful

Bill Robinson.

Brilliantly written and argued thesis regarding certain key aspects in ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2015

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Brilliantly written and argued thesis regarding certain key aspects in the development and the battle for life at cell level. Couched in terms understandable to non specialists and experts alike, Dr. Hebe explains the impossibilty of random mutation being entirely responsible for where the whole life on the planet is at present. He insists on, and explains why, there is intelligence.behind life from its beginnings,.

One person found this helpful

the holy bible collector

How evolution is evil_lution

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2016

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A very good book,i find it much more easier to understand then his last book.recomended.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

An excellent, well thought out challenge to the accepted Darwinian ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2017

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An excellent, well thought out challenge to the accepted Darwinian paradigm. Although it is taught almost unchallenged in schools and universities, evolutionary theory should never be accepted at face value. This book supplies scientific evidence that Darwin was wrong.

One person found this helpful

Taiga

Mike Behe does it again !

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

If you've read Darwin's Black Box ; this is the follow-up. A genius examines the evidence and comes to his own conclusions. Well argued and well presented this is a delightful book to read if you are seeking to understand the arguments for and against Darwinism. Darwinism has its limits ( lack of ANY evidence for what Darwin himself called " The Transmutation of Species" is Darwinism's greatest drawback. ) Behe explains the kind of detail that Darwin never knew. In Darwin's day an amoeba was thought to be " a simple organism" because the microscopes in his day didn't magnify much. . Nowadays we know rather better ! The complexity seems to increase as size decreases and Behe explains this well. STRONGLY recommended !

4 people found this helpful

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