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Richard Dawkins

The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design Paperback – September 17, 1996

by Richard Dawkins (Author)

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"The best general account of evolution I have read in recent years."―E. O. Wilson. With a new introduction.

Twenty years after its original publication, The Blind Watchmaker, framed with a new introduction by the author, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the eighteenth-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin’s brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte. Natural selection―the unconscious, automatic, blind, yet essentially nonrandom process Darwin discovered―has no purpose in mind. If it can be said to play the role of a watchmaker in nature, it is the blind watchmaker in nature.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Dawkins is not a shy man. Edward Larson's research shows that most scientists today are not formally religious, but Dawkins is an in-your-face atheist in the witty British style:

I want to persuade the reader, not just that the Darwinian world-view happens to be true, but that it is the only known theory that could, in principle, solve the mystery of our existence.

The title of this 1986 work, Dawkins's second book, refers to the Rev. William Paley's 1802 work, Natural Theology, which argued that just as finding a watch would lead you to conclude that a watchmaker must exist, the complexity of living organisms proves that a Creator exists. Not so, says Dawkins: "All appearances to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature is the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way... it is the blind watchmaker."

Dawkins is a hard-core scientist: he doesn't just tell you what is so, he shows you how to find out for yourself. For this book, he wrote Biomorph, one of the first artificial life programs. You can check Dawkins's results on your own Mac or PC.

Review

“Dawkins has done more than anyone else now writing to make evolutionary biology comprehensible and acceptable to a general audience.”
- John Maynard Smith

“As readable and vigorous a defense of Darwinism as has been published since 1859.”
- The Economist

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Product details

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (September 17, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393315703
ISBN-13: 978-0393315707
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 429 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #42536 in Health, Fitness & Dieting (Books)
- #75 in Organic Evolution
- #3207 in Biology (Books)

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Mark B Gerstein

Thoughts on Dawkins' Blind Watchmaker: Gives great intuition on tricky bits of evolution (eg blended inheritance)

June 13, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Dawkins' book, The Blind Watchmaker. I read this right after reading Dawkins' earlier creation, the Selfish Gene. This book is brilliantly written and most importantly it conveys subtle and profound scientific ideas in easy and enjoyable language.

Some of the key concepts that Dawkins puts forward (which I was impressed with) include arguments for non blended, "particulate" inheritance and how this relates to sex. Also, he describes how one sees in sexual selection an unusual positive feedback, leading to such things as apparently inefficient long tails, and this is contrasted with the usual negative feedback that one tends to see in nature. The positive feedback loop results from the linkage between preference genes and the trait genes themselves.

There was a very nice discussion of genes and the environment and how the environment of genes includes other genes both within an individual and in other organisms, and this, in turn, leads to complex types of cooperation, arms races and the famous red queen effect. Finally, I liked the discussion of sensory systems such as vision and bat echolocation and how we can learn from these areas where nature has adapted to such a great degree and how we can see that in this process using less refined systems sometimes is evolutionarily advantageous.

Overall I found this a thoroughly enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it to anybody else. It is a great classic.

14 people found this helpful

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Ilya Korobkov

Much more rigorous and thorough than I expected

July 17, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Great read. Despite what the title and some negative reviews may lead you to believe, this book is not so much anti-creationist as pro-Darwinist. Using rigorous logic and arguments rooted in biology, probability theory and information theory, Dawkins proves that Darwinism is still the most plausible and consistent theory explaining the emergence and development of life on Earth. Even though a big part of the book is dedicated to debunking creationist arguments, it also includes the critique of competing scientific theories (for example those that do not consider natural selection to be the primary driving force behind evolution).

7 people found this helpful

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Suzanne Jacobs

Disappointing read...

March 31, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In observation, I could be critical because I prefer books on genetics and parenthetical topics with a little more technical information. With that in mind I attempted to read this book with an open mind and intense focus in an effort to obtain a connected theme. However, I find the material pedantic and dense with obscure intention to a final idea. I am not a novice to genetics and I appreciate his topic but It was easy to get lost in the deluge of words meant to convey ideas which were lost in paragraphs of nonsequential thoughts. This book is not a keeper for me.

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Sujit Pal

Understand Evolution better after reading this book

April 23, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I picked up this book based on a recommendation from a website on Genetic Algorithms. The book convincingly presents multiple evidence-based arguments to support the theory of evolution (against creationism and intelligent design theories). Lot of interesting information here around how animals evolved to adapt to their environment in different ways in different parts of the world. Evolution has always made sense to me (but its probably because I learned about it at school and heard about Creationism as an adult) and I have never really questioned it, but this book made me appreciate the fact that random paths with a good acceptance function can often converge to good solutions.

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JaMas

Very good read,though somewhat repetitive in narrative

May 12, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very good read, Dawkins very patiently guides the reader to a decent understanding of how evolution via natural selection works. The Bio-Morph Land example does a good job of explaining complex design through accumulation of small, gradual changes. I also enjoyed the chapter on alternative theories to natural selection, and the slow and methodical dismantling of them. All in all, a must read for anyone interested in a better understanding of evolution via natural selection.

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Randolph Eck

A Bravo Attempt at Defending Evolution

December 28, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The cover of Richard Dawkins book states "Why the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design." I think the task of trying to write a book that can unequivocally demonstrate that life arose without any designer input is an exceedingly difficult task. Let's face it, we know very little about the origins of life in the early days of several billion years ago. Our bulk of information dates from the Cambrian period forward. With that said, I think Dawkins did a remarkable job at this task.

However, if I were someone who believed in a designer or that there was some intelligence behind life, I don't think I would necessarily come away convinced otherwise after reading this book. Keep in mind, also, that this book was written some time ago and today, in 2011, we have acquired considerable knowledge on the subject of evolution that just wasn't available then especially in the field of genetics.

The reference to a blind watchmaker in the title refers to the fact that natural selection can be said to play the role of a watchmaker in nature; it is called the blind watchmaker. The reference to a watchmaker refers back to a treatise written by William Paley back in 1802. Paley reasoned that a watch which has complex inner workings must therefore have had a designer. In other words, you can tell by looking at something that it had a designer.

I did notice, as some others have commented, that Dawkins has in this book resorted to great verbiage in order to prove various points - not that there is anything wrong with this approach. He does seem though to want to make sure the last nail is firmly hammered into the coffin, so to speak.

A few highlights:

In chapter three, he tries to prove the point of cumulative selection. He does this using computer programs he wrote to produced computer generated creatures showing how changes can over time produce more complex forms. I'm not sure how strong an argument this is considering how much more complex the development of life is than a computer program.

In chapter five, the discussion turns to DNA, RNA, the histone H4 gene, and the RNA-replicase experiment among other things.

In chapter seven, we learn about "co-adapted genotypes" and "arms races."

In chapter nine, Dawkins devotes the entire chapter to discussing the theory of punctuated equilibrium stating flatly that the theory "lies firmly within the neo-Darwinian synthesis." In other words, it is a type of gradualist theory not in opposition to Darwin's ideas.

In chapter ten, he introduces "the one true tree of life" delving into various belief systems of taxonomists and cladists.

In chapter eleven, various "doomed rivals" to evolution are dissected. These include naturalists, selectionists, mutationism, Lamarckian evolution, something called molecular drive, and creationism (both instantaneous and guided evolution theories).

Dawkins asserts his final conclusion to the matter stating that adaptive complexity is a property of living things that is explicable only by Darwinian selection where chance is filtered cumulatively by selection, step by step.

To those interested in adding to their knowledge of the subject, this is one more book to add to your reading list.

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