The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design

This very thorough scientific analysis of all the evidence related to the Cambrian explosion put one more nail in the coffin of Darwin's theory of macroevolution as a creative process. What every child intuitively understands that creation requires a creator is willingly ignored by those claiming to be scientists. The question is what is their motivation for defending this lie for so long and with such vehemence. I hope that some who have been fooled will read this book and think again about what they have been taught. Meyer does a great job of attacking the evidence and not the people. Please read Darwin's Doubt with an open mind and see where the evidence leads!

By the way, many of the issues that Meyer has not answers for are due to his dismissal of a young earth. I believe that the Biblical model of the earth as being only a few thousand years old fits the evidence even better. I wonder if Meyer has seriously considered that possibility?

Rarely has so much research from so many different sources been crammed into one massive tome on Neo-Darwinsim and the flaws therein. At its most fundamental level, Darwin's "Tree of Life" theory is shown to have some serious flaws, flaws deep enough to send earth scientists (bio-geneticists, geologists, evolutionary biologists and the rest) scurrying to find the answer to the riddle of the Cambrian Explosion.

This is not a religious book or a "back door" into Christianity or Theism. It's real science and real honest research which leads to new thinking -- for those who think. While Darwin may have been right about a lot of things, he apparently wasn't right about the origins of life on earth. Why he wasn't is the subject of Meyer's book.

WARNING: If you choose not to wade through several hundred pages of pure, excruciatingly detailed genetics and such, this may not be your book. But if you can persevere, it's worth it. There is no reason, when you run out of answers, to NOT pursue new avenues. While the theory of Intelligent Design isn't "new", it gets a serious boost in this book. About time.

It shows that the worship of this man by evolutionists is quite unfounded. No man or woman should be worshiped. We all have faults. Only arrogant men expect worship and their arrogance proves their unworthiness.

Dr. Meyer intelligently dismantles Darwinian orthodoxy one piece at a time. His arguments are thoughtful and well crafted, exposing the extreme bias of his detractors who often willfully exclude scientific fact when it inconveniently contradicts their closely held assumptions. Ad hominem responses are the last refuge of those with no argument.

Meyer's contentions are gaining ground academically largely because of his acumen at critical evaluation and the rigor with which he engages counterarguments. If nothing else, one should have ALL the data before them before mindlessly following the culture and uncritically swallowing Darwinism. This book is desperately needed to fill the lacunae left for a theory that avoids all negative data by name-calling (Dawkins associating Darwinian doubters with "holocaust deniers").

Excellent information. More and more people are doing the math of Darwinian evolution and finding it doesn't add up. The Cambrian fossils remain an enigma to evolutionary biology. Meyer not only wrote the book but has engaged in public debate with his critics and the questions he raises still stand strong. Whether or not you think random mutations and natural selection could possibly account for our natural history you should read the book and consider the challenges to the one sacrosanct scientific dogma.

Stephen Meyer systematically deals with the entire panoply of sub-theories that have been advanced in support of Darwinism. His approach is respectful, reasoned and comes across as a dispassionate analysis of the proofs. He relies not on his own expertise but draws from the statements of imminent paleontologists and biologists many of whom are Darwinists. He gives credit where it is due and insults no one. His reviewers on the other hand, insult his motives, his credentials and his argumentation, showing their extreme and nearly shrill bias against anyone who doubts Darwinism.

This book comes across as a very well written, heavily documented treatise that provides a sound basis for the prevalent view of origins in the long history of mankind, creation by an intelligent being called God. Darwin himself would accept its conclusions.

Meyer's book makes that case that neo-Darwinian explanations for the natural evolution of life on earth do not hold up when all of the paleontology discoveries of the last 100 years are critically examined. These discoveries—as explained by Meyer from a broad review of the paleontology literature—show an explosive burst of new animal life within a short window of approximately 6 million years in the Cambrian geographical period. This is often referred to as the “Cambrian Explosion.”

Meyer’s book is very controversial because he is the direction of the Center for Science and Culture (CCS) at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington. CSC describes its program as supporting “research by scientists and other scholars challenging various aspects of neo-Darwinian theory and . . . developing the scientific theory known as intelligent design.” Be clear though that CSC does not support the religious creationist view.

I found Meyer’s book to be well researched and measured in it advocacy of intelligent design. Basically, he shows that an extensive review of the latest literature the emergence of 13 to 16 new life forms in a very short time (the "Cambrian Explosion") undermines the Darwinian view on the slow, gradual evolution of life. In the mid-19th century when Darwin wrote “On the Origins of Species,” he was concerned about the Cambrian Explosion. This is the source of Meyer’s main title “Darwin’s Doubt.”

Meyer presents many evolutionary biology scientists support for his book. Following is one example: "Darwin’s Doubt is by far the most up-to-date, accurate, and comprehensive review of the evidence from all relevant scientific fields that I have encountered in more than forty years of studying the Cambrian explosion . An engaging investigation of the origin of animal life and a compelling case for intelligent design.” Meyer's provides a dozen more of this type of endorsement for his research and synthesis from biologists, paleontologists, molecular biologists, medical geneticists, and others.

Meyer describes many examples of how intelligent design by engineers in our world works to create new system designs from their "toolkit" of mechanical, electrical, computer and computer software subsystems. Meyer shows how this appears to be the case in evolutionary biology in which a given species uses a particular gene (equivalent to a system component) to create a biology element (e.g., eye) in different ways than how it shows up in another species. Being a system engineer who has worked in many large defense systems directing, organizing and integrating inputs from many engineering design specialist, I could relate to Meyer's description of how the same genes are used to create different subsystem designs in different species.

Meyer is careful at this time not to get into speculation about the nature or source of the intelligent design. He is not a bible-based creationist.

In my examination of the cosmology anomalies of dark matter, dark energy, and the very fine-tuned nature of our universe, I found a likely role for spiritual intelligence in the “design” of our universe in my book "Frontiers of Knowledge: Scientific and Spiritual Sources for a New Era." This view is supported by many spiritual sources, including descriptive accounts in some near-death experiences and in between-lives regression cases. If advanced spiritual beings (souls) were involved in creating our universe, their involvement in the development and evolution of animal life on earth is easy to believe. This is especially the case if other explanations (e.g., neo-Darwinism) cannot explain the recent discoveries.

A lot of scientific information for the highly educated in Biology and palentology but the point is clear there is no evolutionary evidence linking the pre-cambian era to the cambrian explosion of new life forms.

THis books really shines in the bibliography section. It has a trove of background information to substantiate what the author is saying. Obviously if one is a hardened Darwinian Evolutionist, no amount of data and facts is going to make them re-think some of their premises. As an alternative, Intelligent Design has its strong points.

Very clearly written, one of the most enjoyable science books I've read on any subject. Evolution v. Creationism or Intelligent Design or whatever immediately becomes an emotional agenda-laden subject. Meyer's writing style and tone avoid the drama and present an excellent analysis. He presents other theories clearly with rebuttal. His attention to detail and methodical approach are great for all level or readers including those without a background in DNA for instance. A real welcome break from the Dawkins et al hysteria and hyperbole, the best science book I've read this year and a certain recommend.

WORTH THE PRICE
"Darwin's Doubt" is a clear, engaging summary of the inadequacy of neoDarwian mechanisms to explain biological novelty. He employees the existence of the PreCambian Explosion as a back drop to his discussion. Meyer's criticism includes the latest discoveries of Hox genes and Epigenetic structures. His work is accessible to the unwashed masses, often providing needed background information and analogies/graphics needed to grasp the arguments. Meyer's second edition also provides his fair-minded response to several of those critical of his argument. If you're interested in evolutionary theory his book is well worth the price. Meyer's book is a needed update in light of recent discoveries. Unfortunately, this book is not so different from the previous 50 years of darwinian criticism that it is likely to change the minds of those that need to be changed to release the scientific community from its darwinian stagnation.

Meyer does spend a little time in his work explaining his method of reasoning (abduction) which was disappointing. Michael Behe's method of reasoning in his 1996 work was largely deductive. Darwin offered a class of observations which were prohibited by his theory and Behe found several of these "prohibited" biological systems. As a matter of deductive logic this made darwin's theory (provisionally) false. Provisional and probable are not synonyms.

On the other hand Evolutionary theorists are predominantly inductivists; their methodology is justificationist----they amass corroborative evidence under the mistaken idea that level of supporting evidence is an indicator of (subjective) truth or best. Unfortunately David Hume showed that corroborative evidence is no such indicator and that qualifying conclusions of this kind of argument as "probably true" does not remediate the method. Inductivist methods are logically invalid.

Meyer prefers abductive reasoning (asserting the consequent) which by his own account is logically invalid. Nonetheless Meyer seemed to be of the opinion that qualifying the conclusion of an otherwise invalid argument with probablistic language somehow converts it to a valid one. This does not inspire confidence. Finally I've never been quite sure what value a subjectively "best" theory might have. Shouldn't we prefer a (provisionally) true theory?

This is a masterpiece of scholarship and meticulous research. The work is excellently sourced with about 40% of its volume devoted to exhaustive notes and sourcing. Although it is a technical read it is not inaccessible for the reasonably educated. Meyer carefully explains the more esoteric biological concepts almost to the point of being pedantic. He approaches his subject from every possible angle and with impeccable logic builds an airtight fortress to defend his claims. At no point does he rely on unsubstantiated assumptions to support his arguments. He also never invokes faith or metaphysics. His case is solely based on science and the work of eminent scientists. Charles Marshall's review of this book published in 'Science' was entitled 'The Triumph of Prior Belief over Scholarship.' Though Marshall meant it to describe Meyer's powerful work, it more accurately describes Marshall's review of it. Marshall does not attack Meyer's main arguments, but relies on unsupported claims and wishful thinking to rebut Meyer's arguments. I don't judge Marshall too severely because he set himself an impossible task in trying to pick apart Meyer's imposing edifice. He might as well have tried to move the Rock of Gibraltar. This work will shake the faith of the most ardent and devout believer in Darwinian macroevolution if read with an impartial dedication to scientific truth.

Stephen Meyer is a very, very clear communicator. His premise is simply to show how the cambrian explosion occured too fast to allow for slow, steady, incremental mutations. The book is packed with details - so many details that you can get a little exhausted with it. The presentation is extremely well written and laid out.
Meyer leaves no room for compromise on the evolution vs. design conflict, and that's fine. I admire a writer who is confident in his position. The nice thing about Meyer is that he's not a jerk - when he disagrees, he's cordial and respectful. But he's also very clear. There is no fudging in his research, and again, this book, like Signature in the Cell, is very detailed. It will exhaust you. So be it!

The presentation is somewhat tedious as this is an academic author. Often he uses 20 words where 7 or 8 might work better. However, he presents a compelling scientific case why Darwinian and neo-Darwinian evolution is scientifically impossible. This is a book that most evolutionists will hate.

Another great book by Meyer! Once again, his book has sparked a firestorm of controversy. You know its good when it gets this much attention! If you dont believe me, see below... (I'm sure it wont take long for someone to post generic opposition).

A must read. Everything portrayed in Dr. Stephen C. Meyer's "Darwin's Doubt" is solid and uncontroversial. Compared to present day college professors who provide no evidence to support their allegations, the book is filled solid proofs. The Cambrian explosion has never been explained so well by scientific methods and proven substance that any layman can easily understand. Where these events, along with the Burgess Shale, all misinterpreted by miss guided college scientists over the sudden appearing of all Phyla over a reasonably short period of time. None of this monkey to man stupidity supported by errant scientists that have no proof except for a philosophical errant idea, and no support over millions of years of fossil records where soft shell trilobites abound but not one skeletal imprint of any transitional monkey to man other than artists foolish representations made from a few bones here and there. This book is perhaps to key to understanding our true beginnings.

A well researched book full of solid references in contrast to "The God Delusion". This is not to say that Dawkins doesn't use references in his writing. What I found is Meyer uses solid references every step of the way while constructing a logical path to his hypothesis whereas Dawkins references are overwhelmingly used to support non-essential points and in some cases straw-man arguments.

Sober, thorough discussion of why evolution is not tenable from fossil evidence and biochemical reactions. You may not be convinced but anyone who reads this book will understand that the idea of a Creator guiding a creation is not without a lot of hard, scientific evidence. Unfortunately, the people that need to read this the most (the education establishment that refuses to allow anything to be discussed in class but evolution dogma) are the least likely to read it. It's extremely offensive to them an 8 year with his Bible might have a better understanding of the basic underlying principles of life than some Harvard Professor. Their entire existence is extracting tax dollars because "we know better than you peasants what you should know". If evolution is questioned, why the whole panoply of modern education dogma (more government is the solution to every problem, traditional morality is the greatest impediment to personal happiness, etc.) would also be called into question and where would our jobs go? To some Bible thumper and his private school? And what's worse, the Bible thumpers would increase and stop my pot smoking, sex life, etc. That's why what should be a rational discussion of scientific evidence has become the most emotional topic imaginable. Even "global warming", excuse me, "climate change" has less fury. That's only about a few hundred billion in government grants and projects. Evolution is the linch pin of entire ruling class and be defended with everything that ruling class has.

Meyer is brilliant in accurately reviewing and portraying the evidence showing that the fossil evidence supports neither Darwinism nor Universal Common Descent. Further, he correctly highlights the positive evidence supporting the action of a designing intelligence - all from the data. But most importantly, he shows that the primary requirement for the design of life is information. Naturalists avoid this question because there is no chance and necessity answer for life; nor will there ever be one.

In 50 years, a couple generations of Dawkins-type fanatics will have departed the scene, and the books that will be written then will wonder at how science could have ever made such a mistake. Meyer's book will remain, since by following the mainstream scientific evidence where it actually leads, he got to the right conclusion - that the fossil record and life itself displays convincing data showing animals are the result of the action of a designing intelligence. Bravo!

Another great book by Meyer! Once again, his book has sparked a firestorm of controversy. You know its good when it gets this much attention! If you dont believe me, see below... (I'm sure it wont take long for someone to post generic opposition).

A must read. Everything portrayed in Dr. Stephen C. Meyer's "Darwin's Doubt" is solid and uncontroversial. Compared to present day college professors who provide no evidence to support their allegations, the book is filled solid proofs. The Cambrian explosion has never been explained so well by scientific methods and proven substance that any layman can easily understand. Where these events, along with the Burgess Shale, all misinterpreted by miss guided college scientists over the sudden appearing of all Phyla over a reasonably short period of time. None of this monkey to man stupidity supported by errant scientists that have no proof except for a philosophical errant idea, and no support over millions of years of fossil records where soft shell trilobites abound but not one skeletal imprint of any transitional monkey to man other than artists foolish representations made from a few bones here and there. This book is perhaps to key to understanding our true beginnings.

A well researched book full of solid references in contrast to "The God Delusion". This is not to say that Dawkins doesn't use references in his writing. What I found is Meyer uses solid references every step of the way while constructing a logical path to his hypothesis whereas Dawkins references are overwhelmingly used to support non-essential points and in some cases straw-man arguments.

Sober, thorough discussion of why evolution is not tenable from fossil evidence and biochemical reactions. You may not be convinced but anyone who reads this book will understand that the idea of a Creator guiding a creation is not without a lot of hard, scientific evidence. Unfortunately, the people that need to read this the most (the education establishment that refuses to allow anything to be discussed in class but evolution dogma) are the least likely to read it. It's extremely offensive to them an 8 year with his Bible might have a better understanding of the basic underlying principles of life than some Harvard Professor. Their entire existence is extracting tax dollars because "we know better than you peasants what you should know". If evolution is questioned, why the whole panoply of modern education dogma (more government is the solution to every problem, traditional morality is the greatest impediment to personal happiness, etc.) would also be called into question and where would our jobs go? To some Bible thumper and his private school? And what's worse, the Bible thumpers would increase and stop my pot smoking, sex life, etc. That's why what should be a rational discussion of scientific evidence has become the most emotional topic imaginable. Even "global warming", excuse me, "climate change" has less fury. That's only about a few hundred billion in government grants and projects. Evolution is the linch pin of entire ruling class and be defended with everything that ruling class has.

Meyer is brilliant in accurately reviewing and portraying the evidence showing that the fossil evidence supports neither Darwinism nor Universal Common Descent. Further, he correctly highlights the positive evidence supporting the action of a designing intelligence - all from the data. But most importantly, he shows that the primary requirement for the design of life is information. Naturalists avoid this question because there is no chance and necessity answer for life; nor will there ever be one.

In 50 years, a couple generations of Dawkins-type fanatics will have departed the scene, and the books that will be written then will wonder at how science could have ever made such a mistake. Meyer's book will remain, since by following the mainstream scientific evidence where it actually leads, he got to the right conclusion - that the fossil record and life itself displays convincing data showing animals are the result of the action of a designing intelligence. Bravo!

This is truly an "explosive" book! A science book easily understandable by non-scientists, it scientifically refutes neo-Darwinian beliefs about the origin of life forms - particularly in the Cambrian explosion. It does not dispute the principles of natural selection in the diversity of life forms, but rather the ORIGIN of the species. Meyer has (and will) take heat for this book, but his presentation is so logical and thorough that his conclusions are absolutely compelling. Don't forget to read the "Epilogue: Responses to Critics of the First Edition." The book is a must-read for anyone interested in the origin of life.

Very well written. Shows that evolution is not the source of life but is rather a tool of the Creator. Shows that intelligent design is the only theory adequate to explain the complexity of life and the explosion into being of life forms. This book makes materialism look simplistic and silly and mathematically impossible.

I was totally unfamiliar with intelligent design until I read Meyer's other book, "Signature in the Cell." In stark contrast to the feelings I had after reading Richard Dawkins' "The Blind Watchmaker", Meyer's book provided a logical, sensible, scientific point of view which closed many of the loose ends Dawkins failed to close. Dawkins' thesis was we may see what APPEARS to be design in nature but it is an allusion because "nature's watchmaker" is blind. All of his examples used to make his case required design! His computer models depended on human input this negating his premise. He closed by saying while we have no idea how crystalline RNA became self-replicating DNA, we could be confident no designer was involved. I shook my head in disgust at his sleight of hand arguments. Meyer closed those doubts in "Signature in the Cell" and this follow-on work was also superb in showing the numerous, gaping holes in neo-Darwinian theory as well as the notion of abiogenesis.

I can't recommend both books more strongly to anyone interested in understanding ID and why it is NOT religion, NOT creationism, and why it IS a rigorous scientific theory supported by strong scientific evidence.

This is a beautifully written work on current science and Darwinian Theory for the average reader. Although the science is very detailed and documented, the writing is clear and enjoyable. One of my most enjoyable ( I am NOT a scientist by ANY means ) and informative reads this year.

The Cambrian explosion of life forms from many places in the world refute Darwin's evolution gradualism, attempts to circumvent this have been singularly innefective.The Science defined paradigm's for science need to be corrected.

Excellent work elucidating the utter inadequacy of the Darwinian mechanism in producing novel body plans or complex life as we know it. To me the evidence is clear. Chance and time cannot explain the phenomenal intricacy, complexity, mystery, and beauty that we observe in the creatures that surround us. Dr Meyer thoroughly exposes neodarwinian evolution for the frail, feeble, misguided, and wholly religious dogma that it is.

I look forward to his future work.

Meyer is a real scientist that raise some real questions to challenge fundamental 'Darwinism'. This is an excellent resource for those wanting to address the emerging 'gaps' in the world view that natural selection, mutation, and survival of the fittest provides the best explanation of the current scientific data. Meyer's points out that there are significant problems with traditional Darwinism when it comes to explaining the actual fossil record, the origins of life, and macro evolution. Darwin might be able to explain the variation in moths and finch beaks, but fails to address the bigger questions of origins of life and its development.

I appreciated the thorough treatment of the different schools of thought in mainstream science relating to the book's topic. Appreciate Dr. Meyer's courage to consider and defend the design option, in spite of bitter opposition from Big Science.

This is possibly the best, most thorough, and most fair critical review of neo-Darwinism I have yet encountered. For anyone interested in the theory, on both sides of the debate, it's a must-read as a balance to the media-fed "evolution is an established fact" hype (or, perhaps, misconception). Not because it puts evolution "on the ropes" so much as because it raises real problems with the theory and elucidates those particulars where Darwinism fails in it's explanatory burden. In other words, it fairly presents the areas where Darwinism is weak or entirely fails. At the same time, it makes a good case for why intelligent design offers a better explanation of the facts.

Dr. Meyer has bravely made a great scientific contribution without resorting to religion, and has confirmed all I suspected about the evolution taught to us in school: 'How could random selection create an eye?' His lectures are passionate and persuasive. His book explains the impossibility of enhanced evolution in great detail, going far beyond the Cambrian Explosion. And the rare times he mentions religion is in describing preconceptions that narrow minded university people have had to his lectures before even hearing them. It is up to you to decide what this means. It is just that the answer isn't evolution as taught in school. So you wonder why, in the light of all this hard scientific evidence, are the pedagogues so afraid to question a 19th century theory? In the end it is statistically impossible to have created even a complex amino acid fold by simple trial and error. He explains this chemically, biologically, and in terms of digital code (as in DNA) in great detail. I only wish there were a glossary because some of the language is very technical and needs to be broken down for the layman. After defending Darwin and enhanced (mutation) evolution for years it slowly dawned on me that this was impossible. Natural selection and adaptation is one thing, but where did the first cell come from and how did it become something as complex and amazing as a tree, or a butterfly, or a human? True science is being suppressed in this debate and it is time for real consideration on the subject. One side discounts any sort of underlying dimension to life's design, and the other side resorts to an ancient superstition. We really haven't 'evolved' far enough to be analytical.

Once again the design camp explains carefully with science, why Darwin's as of yet unproven theory of evolution falls short of the mark, and after reading the rebuttals to Steven Meyers Book it appears there really isn't anything natural science can say. This is a great book and should be available to science students who are looking to find real answers to serious questions at high school and college levels.

This has been very well referenced, well written, and cogently argued, so much so, that it would be intellectually irresponsible to simply dismiss Dr. Meyer's claims without engaging the arguments and evidence supporting his claims. Just read it and see for yourself.

This book is absolutely titanic. I will try to make some observations that are different to the other 765 reviews that have been written on this book at the time of my review.

Dynamics of the book:

1. 20 chapters + Epilogue over 448 pages. 21.3 pages per chapter
2. Bibliography of (approximately) 841 sources. 1.9 sources per page of text.
3. 924 citations (exactly) over the entire book. 2.1 citations per single page of text.
4. The bibliography included six books from Richard Dawkins and about 10 journal publications from SJ Gould.

The book boils down to 4 points (and this is the statement of the author at the end of the book):

1. There is a huge number of possibilities (combinatorial space) and there is no way to efficiently search through them *if natural selection is the mechanism of action*
2. The waiting times are unrealistic.
3. Early acting mutations (the ones that would generate new things) are invariably harmful and produce non functional things-- if anything at all.
4. Genetic mutations cannot create epigenetic material.

Three parts (each of these parts could be a book in its own right):

1. The Cambrian Explosion and insufficiencies in explaining it;
2. Problems in molecular genetics;
3. Post- Darwin models (among them intelligent design).

There are also some wonderful subtopics here (the philosophy of science; the differences between inductive/ deductive/ abductive reasoning, etc).

Meyer's book was a tough, interdisciplinary read. It took me about a month of struggle with it, and I had to re-read several parts. I would also say that the book was very balanced and disciplined in the way that it wrote. For topics that are this large, and with whom people have so much emotional involvement, it would have been very easy to write a 448 page emotional screed and lose some of that discipline. (In this way, his book reminds me of almost anything that is written by Thomas Sowell. Sowell is a man who knows that most of the people who he is trying to reach have no idea what they're talking about and yet he slowly and carefully builds his case anew over and over again.)

It's unfortunate that the people who really need to know about this issue (i.e., the ones with the strongest opinions and loudest mouths about it) are unlikely to read this book-- and that is because most people have not taken Molecular Genetics, nor have most people who have opinions about this issue the ones who have taken BOTH Molecular Genetics and done some reading about the Philosophy of Science.

Verdict: At the price of a secondhand edition of this book, it's worth giving to that one loudmouthed friend who believes that intelligent design is simply for idiots and religious nutballs-- but without exactly knowing why. It's just the "in" thing to believe, discussions and analysis be damned. At the price of a new book, this is strongly recommended for personal use.

A case for support of the "intelligent Design Theorem" is everything that I expected that it might be. Very well written by an author that makes his case understandable and well put. An excellent follow-up to his first book, Steven C. Meyer makes a case that's difficult, if not impossible to refute.

Very helpful book showing how impossible it is for the single celled pre-Cambrian organisms to evolve in a mere 20-30 million years to the amazingly complex life forms found in the Cambrian. I especially appreciated the section on epigenetics which shows that more than DNA is necessary to build an organism.