Creation, Evolution and Intelligent Design

Author(s): P. Balaram
Source: Current Science , 10 May 2004, Vol. 86, No. 9 (10 May 2004), pp. 1191-1192
Published by: Current Science Association

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24109916

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 Volume 86 Number 9 10 May 2004

EDITORIAL

Creation, Evolution and Intelligent Design

Little Lamb who made thee? voyage of the Beagle forms the pillar on which our mod
Dost thou know who made thee? ern view of biology is supported. Selection and adapta
Gave thee life and bid thee feed, tion are words which are now commonly used even by
By the stream and o 'er the mead; molecular biologists, bringing Darwinism to areas at the
very borders of biochemistry and biology. Darwin pub
, . lished his immortal book in 1859 and died in 1882, but
When the stars threw down their spears, ,. ., .. . . i j- a . j t
, ,, .... his ideas continue to be fiercely discussed even today. In
And water d heaven with their tears, . ., - ^ . . , .
« the world of science, Darwin s views are rarely chal
Did he smile his work to see? . , ,. ., *■ , , j *t . >
,, , . , , , lenged; his ideas as firmly rooted as Newton s are in
Did he who made the lamb make thee ? , , , . , . . c , . ,
William Blake classical mechanics an
' world. But in the larger world, Darwin arouses a fierce
^ . , .... .... ... response from 'creationists', who hold the view that life
There is a grandeur in this view of lite, with its r . „ ,, ,. . . „ . ,
° , . , . . „ , , , • forms on earth were created by a divine act. Science and
several powers having been originally breathed into ... „ . . ,. . „. . ... ,.
/ . ° , f religion appear to come into direct conflict, with the bio
a few forms or into one: and that while this planet j c . .• c
, ,. .. ^ logical view having no need for the intervention of a
has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of , t . . , , , . „ , .c . , . ....
° , J 0 . ° . J „ . master watchmaker , a benign God manifested in differ
gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms . ... .. . „ ,.
6 • . , , , . , , , , ent forms in diverse religions. To open a discussion on
most beautiful and most wonderful have been and , ,. . . . . , . ...
J J science and religion is to tread on dangerous and slippery
are eing evo ve ground; an area best left to thinkers, philosophers and
—Charles Darwin
ideologues. It is in an area that I would normally skirt,
The Origin of Species
(and indeed, I will try to do so here) afraid of being in
Natural selection is the blind watchmaker, blind volved in discussions in which I have no expertise. But
because it does not see ahead, does not plan con- my 'nterest was sparked by a question posed by a frien
sequences, has no purpose in view. Yet the living a journalist, who asked. Why is it that the creation vs
results of natural selection overwhelmingly impress evolution debate rages unabated in the United States,
us with the appearance of design by a master watch- never seems to be an issue anywhere else in the wor
maker, impress us with the illusion of design and including India? I was spurred on by an editorial that
planning appeared in the 20 April 2004 issue of The Hindu, a
Richard Dawkins newspaper that has always provided space for scien
The Blind Watchmaker The editorial entitled 'Humankind and Evolution' ende
Penguin Books, 1990 by quoting Clarence Darrow, the flamboyant defe
lawyer in the Scopes trial of 1925: 'Ignorance and fanati
Descended from the apes! My dear, let us hope cism is ever busy and needs feeding'. Within a cou
that it is not true, but if it is, let us pray that it will days of its publication, the Hindu editorial
not become generally known. sponses from readers. Of the three published letters, one
endorsed the need for 'scientific inputs' at a time when
—The wife of the Bishop of Worcester upon hearing of
'obscurantist opinions' seem to prevail. Two others seemed
'Origins', quoted by Patricia G. Horan, Foreword, The
to take a different view. One writer suggested that 'scien
Origin of Species, Avenel Books, New York (Edition 1979).
tific theories are subject to change as new evidence emer
No writer has had a greater impact on our view of life ges'; an unassailable viewpoint which implied that Darwi
and its evolution on this planet than Charles Darwin. His and natural selection must still await the jury's verdict,
famous synthesis of the observations made during the The other correspondent was more emphatic; he took th

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 9, 10 MAY 2004 1191

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EDITORIAL

view that opponents of Darwin have long favoured, not- practically non-existent; biochemistry
ing that evolution 'involves a degree of creativity and plexity' manifesting itself in all living
consistency, which points to the hand of a supreme be- study that has just been published de
ing'. The discussion in the columns of the Hindu clearly stranded DNA viral capsid in a therm
suggests that natural selection as the driver of biological rus. The similarity of the viruses whic
evolution is a concept that sits uncomfortably in the pub- domains of life, Eukarya, Bacteria and
lie perception. a 'common ancestor that precedes the division into three
What do children in India learn at school? I found an domains of life > 3 billion years ago' (G
ISC Biology book aimed at 12th Std students which be- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sei. USA, May 2004). T
gan a chapter on the 'Origin of Life' with a paragraph on fossils of 'ancestral life forms' or for
the 'Theory of Special Creation' but quickly moved to a cules', that convincingly demonstrate
biochemical discussion of molecules, with a prefatory maker at work, is one of the biggest ga
sentence, that 'the idea that life could have originated in life research'. Evidence for natural sele
the primordial earth in some warm little pond' was ad- and speciation abound in Darwin's biolo
vanced by Charles Darwin. The NCERT textbook for world of biochemistry is not blessed with
Class X in its chapter on 'Heredity and Evolution' reso- ful fossil record. Nearly 20 years ago, A.
lutely avoids any mention of 'special creation' and votes wrote a marvellous little book Seven Clu
for Darwinian natural selection and gradual evolution. As of Life (Cambridge University Press, 1
opposed to the relative equanimity with which evolution The author, an unabashed fan of Sherlo
is viewed in the world, Darwinian ideas seem to invite gests that 'the origin of life is a Holmesia
greater challenge in the United States. President George if we can understand how life could hav
Bush in his election campaign, in 2000, asserted: 'On the then we should be able to work out, roug
issue of evolution the verdict is still out on how God ere- it did start'. Cairns-Smith provides no d
ated the Earth'. Strangely, this statement seemed to imply some of his chapters have dangerously
that the question of 'who' had been resolved and that the seductive titles, cf. 'Build your own E. c
discussion centred on 'how'. Creationists in the US have his introduction to biology's least underst
often challenged the teaching of evolution in schools and required reading for anyone, scientist a
demanded equal time for a biblical view of the origin of who would like to worry about life's beg
life. Some years ago the Kansas School Board was em- The creation vs evolution debate in t
broiled in a controversy; more recently, the Ohio Board dramatic climax in the famous 'Scopes
of Education has considered the introduction of 'Intelli- held in Dayton, Tennessee between 10 an
gent Design' to be taught alongside the Darwinian view John Scopes, a young school teacher wa
of evolution. tionalists' to challenge a state law banning the teaching
'Intelligent Design' is a view couched in language that of evolution. The tria
appears borrowed from science; far removed from bibli- lywood; pitting a fam
cal descriptions of the genesis. Biochemistry seems to ing for evolution and
enter this challenge to Darwin; its proponents referring to William Jennings Bryan
the 'irreducibly complex' systems of the molecular machi- Darrow demolished Bryan
nery of living cells. One of the champions of intelligent him on the witness st
design goes so far as to say: 'Biochemistry . . . describes The battle between c
the workings of many living molecular machines within tinues to be fought in
our cells, but offers very little information about how ism labelling evolutio
these systems supposedly evolved by natural selection. published last year a c
. . . Perhaps molecular machines appear to look designed who cherish science sho
because they are really designed.' (M. J. Behe, Natural we are doing science and
History, April, 2002). The critics are quick to respond, it, particularly when w
citing many examples where the components of irreduci- science that is to be t
bly complex systems have 'different but still useful func- ing more. Leave othe
tions'; clear evidence that complexity may evolve by time.' (M. Ruse, Scien
gradual accretion and modification of function (K. R. In thinking about the o
Miller, Natural History, April 2002). Even as the boun- would do well to rem
daries between the fields of molecular and cell biology, tive logic enunciated
developmental and organismal biology are bridged, new ture of the Beryl Co
questions on the way evolution has shaped biology will that when you have e
be raised. The gap between chemical and biological evo- remains, however impr
P. Balaram
lution is a yawning chasm. The molecular fossil record is P. Balaram
! 192 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 9, 10 MAY 2004

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