Argument from poor design
Encyclopedia
The dysteleological argument or argument from poor design is an argument against the existence of God, specifically against the existence of a creator God (in the sense of a God that directly created all species of life). It is based on the following chain of reasoning:
The argument
is structured as a basic Modus tollens
: if "creation" contains many defects, then design is not a plausible theory for the origin of our existence. It is most commonly used in a weaker way, however: not with the aim of disproving the existence of God, but rather as a reductio ad absurdum
of the well-known argument from design
, which runs as follows:
The complete phrase "argument from poor design" has rarely been used in the literature, but arguments of this type have appeared many times, sometimes referring to poor design, in other cases to suboptimal design, unintelligent design, or dysteleology
; the last is a term applied by the nineteenth-century biologist Ernst Haeckel
to the implications of organs so rudimentary as to be useless to the life of an organism . Haeckel, in his book The History of Creation, devoted most of a chapter to the argument, and ended by proposing, perhaps with tongue slightly in cheek, to set up "a theory of the unsuitability of parts in organisms, as a counter-hypothesis to the old popular doctrine of the suitability of parts" . The term incompetent design has been coined by Donald Wise of the University of Massachusetts
to describe aspects of nature that are currently flawed in design. The name stems from the acronym I.D. and is used to counter-balance arguments for intelligent design
.
"Poor design" is consistent with the predictions of the scientific theory
of evolution
by means of natural selection
. This predicts that features that were evolved for certain uses, are then reused or co-opted for different uses, or abandoned altogether; and that suboptimal state is due to the inability of the hereditary
mechanism to eliminate the particular vestiges of the evolutionary process.
In terms of a fitness landscape
, natural selection will always push "up the hill", but a species cannot normally get from a lower peak to a higher peak without first going through a valley.
The argument from poor design is one of the arguments that was used by Charles Darwin
; modern proponents have included Stephen Jay Gould
and Richard Dawkins
. They argue that such features can be explained as a consequence of the gradual, cumulative nature of the evolutionary process. Theistic evolutionists generally reject the argument from design, but do still maintain belief in the existence of God.
includes the following:
Other examples of "poor design" include:
:
The passage goes on to list a number of aspects of the world that seem wonderful or miraculous. The claim is that, if we have no understanding of how the wonders of the world were created, it is presumptuous of us to believe that we can fully understand the things that appear flawed.
to improve overall optimal design. A common example from electrical engineering would be in amplifier design: Suppose an electrical engineer uses a negative feedback loop to trade amplifier gain for stability. An naive observer may note the suboptimal gain of the amplifier and conclude the engineer made a mistake. But the low gain was intentional — it appears to be a mistake only because the observer is unaware of the engineer's design goals.
proponent William Dembski questions the first premise of the argument, maintaining a distinction between "intelligent design" and optimal design. It is noted by theists that the panda's "thumb" works well for what the panda uses it for – to strip leaves.
While the appendix has been previously credited with very little function, research has shown that it serves an important role in the fetus and young adults. Endocrine cells appear in the appendix of the human fetus at around the 11th week of development, which produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones, compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms. In young adults, the appendix has some immune functions.
In addition, the plantaris muscle does atrophy. Its motor function is so minimal that its long tendon can readily be harvested for reconstruction elsewhere with little functional deficit. "Often mistaken for a nerve by freshman medical students, the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet. It has disappeared altogether in 9 percent of the population."
In response to the claim that uses have been found for "junk" DNA, proponents note that the fact that some non-coding DNA has a purpose does not establish that all non-coding DNA has a purpose, and that the human genome does include pseudogenes that are clearly nonfunctional "junk". The original study that suggested that the Makorin1-p1 served some purpose has been shown to be entirely wrong. They also note that some sections of DNA can be randomized, cut, or added to with no apparent effect on the organism in question.
With regard to the last argument, proponents note that nobody has studied the effects of increased efficiency in plants in such a way to make this determination possible. Some plants have more and less efficient photosynthesis
reactions, such as the C3
, C4
, and CAM
photosynthesis reactions. No such "damaging chemical reactions" occur in the more effective processes.
The original argument rests on the concept of oxidative stress and ROS
– the LHC
and other components of the photosynthetic array can absorb only a certain amount of energy from sunlight. Absorbing more results in oxidative damage – a well-documented phenomenon in plants. However, this argument does nothing to invalidate the argument from poor design, as it merely shifts the focus of the question to why those specific components of the photosynthetic apparatus were designed to be unable to cope with commonly-encountered levels of solar energy. Natural selection as an explanation fares much better because it posits that photosynthesis originally evolved in an aquatic environment, then later adapted (but imperfectly) to the higher solar energy found in terrestrial environments.
, such as omnipotence, omniscience, or personality. In a weaker form, it is used as an argument for the incompetence of God. The existence of "poor design" (as well as the perceived prodigious "wastefulness" of the evolutionary process) would seem to imply a "poor" designer, or a "blind" designer, or no designer at all. In Gould's words, "If God had designed a beautiful machine to reflect his wisdom and power, surely he would not have used a collection of parts generally fashioned for other purposes. Orchids are not made by an ideal engineer; they are jury-rigged...."
A counter-argument that has been made against this application of the argument – and that can be used against the argument from poor design itself – points out that the argument from poor design assumes that efficiency and neatness are the only criteria upon which the quality of biological design must be judged. The counter-argument maintains that, in addition to (or instead of) being thought of as an engineer
, God is perhaps better thought of as an artist
(possessing the ultimate artistic license
). Moreover, this application of the argument presupposes the accountability of God to the judgement of humanity, an idea most major religions consider to be an enormous conceit that is diametrically opposed to their doctrines. However, doctrinal distaste should not rule out the moral issue that a benign God would not include design flaws that lead to pain or unnecessary death, such as the appendix
, coccyx
, our crowded teeth or a proclivity for cancer
or the birth of babies through the pelvis. See Problem of Evil
. But insufficient human knowledge may make things that actually are useful seem useless. For instance, it was once thought that tonsils were useless, but in fact they have minor disease-preventing properties. But, if we can presume to recognize good design and, yet at the same time, we plead ignorance on apparent bad design, then are we not selectively touting the "evidence" that tends logically to support our claim, while we ignore other, ostensibly equally valid "evidence" that tends logically to contradict that claim? Such evidence of poor design would certainly be expected at least to reduce the effectiveness of the argument from design.
The apparently sub-optimal design of organisms has also been used by theistic evolutionists to argue in favour of a god who uses natural selection as a mechanism of his creation. Arguers from poor design regard all these counter-arguments as a false dilemma
(God designed it, or it's flawed), leading to the unfalsifiability of intelligent design – if it's good design, God did it. If it's bad design, it's a result of the Fall (Genesis 3:16 has God saying to Eve
"I will increase your trouble in pregnancy").
- An omnipotentOmnipotenceOmnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
, omniscientOmniscienceOmniscience omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In Latin, omnis means "all" and sciens means "knowing"...
, omnibenevolentOmnibenevolenceOmnibenevolence is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". It is often held to be impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such property along side omniscience and omnipotence as a result of the problem of evil...
creator GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
would create organismOrganismIn biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s that have optimal designDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
. - Organisms have features that are sub-optimal.
- Therefore, God either did not create these organisms or is not omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.
The argument
Argument
In philosophy and logic, an argument is an attempt to persuade someone of something, or give evidence or reasons for accepting a particular conclusion.Argument may also refer to:-Mathematics and computer science:...
is structured as a basic Modus tollens
Modus tollens
In classical logic, modus tollens has the following argument form:- Formal notation :...
: if "creation" contains many defects, then design is not a plausible theory for the origin of our existence. It is most commonly used in a weaker way, however: not with the aim of disproving the existence of God, but rather as a reductio ad absurdum
Reductio ad absurdum
In logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or validity of a proposition by showing that the proposition's being false would imply a contradiction...
of the well-known argument from design
Teleological argument
A teleological or design argument is an a posteriori argument for the existence of God based on apparent design and purpose in the universe. The argument is based on an interpretation of teleology wherein purpose and intelligent design appear to exist in nature beyond the scope of any such human...
, which runs as follows:
- Living things are too well-designed to have originated by chance.
- Therefore, life must have been created by an intelligent creator.
- This creator is God.
The complete phrase "argument from poor design" has rarely been used in the literature, but arguments of this type have appeared many times, sometimes referring to poor design, in other cases to suboptimal design, unintelligent design, or dysteleology
Dysteleology
Dysteleology is the philosophical view that existence has no telos or final cause from purposeful design. The term "dysteleology" is a modern word invented and popularized by Haeckel...
; the last is a term applied by the nineteenth-century biologist Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel
The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...
to the implications of organs so rudimentary as to be useless to the life of an organism . Haeckel, in his book The History of Creation, devoted most of a chapter to the argument, and ended by proposing, perhaps with tongue slightly in cheek, to set up "a theory of the unsuitability of parts in organisms, as a counter-hypothesis to the old popular doctrine of the suitability of parts" . The term incompetent design has been coined by Donald Wise of the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
to describe aspects of nature that are currently flawed in design. The name stems from the acronym I.D. and is used to counter-balance arguments for intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
.
Overview
Scientific theory
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by means of natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
. This predicts that features that were evolved for certain uses, are then reused or co-opted for different uses, or abandoned altogether; and that suboptimal state is due to the inability of the hereditary
Heredity
Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve...
mechanism to eliminate the particular vestiges of the evolutionary process.
In terms of a fitness landscape
Fitness landscape
In evolutionary biology, fitness landscapes or adaptive landscapes are used to visualize the relationship between genotypes and reproductive success. It is assumed that every genotype has a well-defined replication rate . This fitness is the "height" of the landscape...
, natural selection will always push "up the hill", but a species cannot normally get from a lower peak to a higher peak without first going through a valley.
The argument from poor design is one of the arguments that was used by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
; modern proponents have included Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
and Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
. They argue that such features can be explained as a consequence of the gradual, cumulative nature of the evolutionary process. Theistic evolutionists generally reject the argument from design, but do still maintain belief in the existence of God.
Examples
The human reproductive systemReproductive system
The reproductive system or genital system is a system of organs within an organism which work together for the purpose of reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are also important accessories to the reproductive system. Unlike most organ systems, the sexes...
includes the following:
- In the human female, a fertilized eggZygoteA zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
can implant into the fallopian tubeFallopian tubeThe Fallopian tubes, also known as oviducts, uterine tubes, and salpinges are two very fine tubes lined with ciliated epithelia, leading from the ovaries of female mammals into the uterus, via the utero-tubal junction...
, cervixCervixThe cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina. It is cylindrical or conical in shape and protrudes through the upper anterior vaginal wall...
or ovaryOvaryThe ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...
rather than the uterusUterusThe uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
causing an ectopic pregnancyEctopic pregnancyAn ectopic pregnancy, or eccysis , is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo implants outside the uterine cavity. With rare exceptions, ectopic pregnancies are not viable. Furthermore, they are dangerous for the parent, since internal haemorrhage is a life threatening complication...
. The existence of a cavity between the ovary and the fallopian tube could indicate a flawed design in the female reproductive system. Prior to modern surgery, ectopic pregnancy invariably caused the deaths of both mother and baby. Even in modern times, in almost all cases, the pregnancy must be aborted to save the life of the mother. - In the human female, the birth canalVaginaThe vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
passes through the pelvis. The prenatal skull will deform to a surprising extent. However, if the baby’s head is significantly larger than the pelvic opening, the baby cannot be born naturally. Prior to the development of modern surgery (caesarean sectionCaesarean sectionA Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
), such a complication would lead to the death of the mother, the baby or both. Other birthing complications such as breech birthBreech birthA breech birth is the birth of a baby from a breech presentation. In the breech presentation the baby enters the birth canal with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head first presentation....
are worsened by this position of the birth canal. - In the human male, testes develop initially within the abdomenAbdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. Later during gestation, they migrate through the abdominal wall into the scrotumScrotumIn some male mammals the scrotum is a dual-chambered protuberance of skin and muscle containing the testicles and divided by a septum. It is an extension of the perineum, and is located between the penis and anus. In humans and some other mammals, the base of the scrotum becomes covered with curly...
. This causes two weak points in the abdominal wall where herniaHerniaA hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
s can later form. Prior to modern surgical techniques, complications from hernias including intestinal blockage, gangreneGangreneGangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
, etc., usually resulted in death.
Other examples of "poor design" include:
- Barely used nerves and muscles, such as the plantaris musclePlantaris musclePlantaris is a vestigial structure and one of the superficial muscles of the posterior crural compartment of the leg.It is innervated by the tibial nerve ....
of the foot, that are missing in part of the human population and are routinely harvested as spare parts if needed during operations. Another example is the muscles that move the ears, which some people can learn to control to a degree, but serve no purpose in any case . - The common malformation of the human spinal column, leading to scoliosisScoliosisScoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. Although it is a complex three-dimensional deformity, on an X-ray, viewed from the rear, the spine of an individual with scoliosis may look more like an "S" or a "C" than a straight line...
, sciaticaSciaticaSciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...
and congenital misalignment of the vertebrae. - Almost all animals and plants synthesize their own vitamin CVitamin CVitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
, but humans cannot because the gene for this enzyme is defective (Pseudogene ΨGULOL-gulonolactone oxidaseL-gulonolactone oxidase is an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of D-glucuronolactone with oxygen to L-xylo-hex-3-gulonolactone and hydrogen peroxide. It uses FAD as a cofactor...
). Lack of vitamin C results in scurvyScurvyScurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
and eventually death. The gene is also non-functional in other primatePrimateA primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s and in guinea pigGuinea pigThe guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
s, but is functional in most other animals. - In the AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n locustLocustLocusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
, nerveNerveA peripheral nerve, or simply nerve, is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons . A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system...
cells start in the abdomen but connect to the wing. This leads to unnecessary use of materials. - Intricate reproductive devices in orchids, apparently constructed from components commonly having different functions in other flowers.
- The use by pandaPandaPanda or Panda bear most often refers to:*Giant panda, an animal in the Bear familyPanda may also refer to:*Red panda, the only living member in the Ailuridae family-In biology:* Species related to the Giant panda...
s of their enlarged radial sesamoid bones in a manner similar to how other creatures use thumbThumbThe thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position , the thumb is the lateral-most digit...
s. - The existence of unnecessary wings in flightless birds, e.g. ostriches .
- The route of the recurrent laryngeal nerveRecurrent laryngeal nerveThe recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx . It travels within the endoneurium...
is such that it travels from the brain to the larynx by looping around the aortic archAortic archThe arch of the aorta or the transverse aortic arch is the part of the aorta that begins at the level of the upper border of the second sternocostal articulation of the right side, and runs at first upward, backward, and to the left in front of the trachea; it is then directed backward on the left...
. This same configuration holds true for many animals; in the case of the giraffeGiraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
, this results in about twenty feet of extra nerve. - The prevalence of congenital diseases and genetic disorders such as Huntington's DiseaseHuntington's diseaseHuntington's disease, chorea, or disorder , is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and dementia. It typically becomes noticeable in middle age. HD is the most common genetic cause of abnormal involuntary writhing movements called chorea...
. - Crowded teeth and poor sinusParanasal sinusParanasal sinuses are a group of four paired air-filled spaces that surround the nasal cavity , above and between the eyes , and behind the ethmoids...
drainage, as human faces are significantly flatter than those of other primates and humans share the same tooth set. This results in a number of problems, most notably with wisdom teeth. - The existence of the pharynxPharynxThe human pharynx is the part of the throat situated immediately posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity, and anterior to the esophagus and larynx. The human pharynx is conventionally divided into three sections: the nasopharynx , the oropharynx , and the laryngopharynx...
, a passage used for both ingestionIngestionIngestion is the consumption of a substance by an organism. In animals, it normally is accomplished by taking in the substance through the mouth into the gastrointestinal tract, such as through eating or drinking...
and respirationRespiration (physiology)'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
, with the consequent drastic increase in the risk of chokingChokingChoking is the mechanical obstruction of the flow of air from the environment into the lungs. Choking prevents breathing, and can be partial or complete, with partial choking allowing some, although inadequate, flow of air into the lungs. Prolonged or complete choking results in asphyxia which...
. - The structure of humans' eyeHuman eyeThe human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
s (as well as those of all mammalMammalMammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s). The retinaRetinaThe vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
is 'inside out'. The nerves and blood vessels lie on the surface of the retina instead of behind it as is the case in many invertebrateInvertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
species. This arrangement forces a number of complex adaptations and gives mammals a blind spotBlind spot (vision)A blind spot, also known as a scotoma, is an obscuration of the visual field. A particular blind spot known as the blindspot, or physiological blind spot, or punctum caecum in medical literature, is the place in the visual field that corresponds to the lack of light-detecting photoreceptor cells on...
. (See Evolution of the eye). Six muscles move the eye when three would suffice. - The loss of tetrachromatic vision by mammals as compared to other tetrapods.
- The enzyme RuBisCORuBisCORibulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase, commonly known by the shorter name RuBisCO, is an enzyme involved in the first major step of carbon fixation, a process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by plants to energy-rich molecules such as glucose. RuBisCo is an abbreviation...
has been described as a "notoriously inefficient" enzyme, as it is inhibitedEnzyme inhibitorAn enzyme inhibitor is a molecule that binds to enzymes and decreases their activity. Since blocking an enzyme's activity can kill a pathogen or correct a metabolic imbalance, many drugs are enzyme inhibitors. They are also used as herbicides and pesticides...
by oxygen, has a very slow turnover and is not saturated at current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The enzyme is inhibited as it unable to distinguish between carbon dioxide and molecular oxygen, with oxygen acting as an competitive enzyme inhibitorCompetitive inhibitionCompetitive inhibition is a form of enzyme inhibition where binding of the inhibitor to the active site on the enzyme prevents binding of the substrate and vice versa.-Mechanism:...
. However, RuBisCO remains the key enzyme in carbon fixationCarbon fixationIn biology, carbon fixation is the reduction of carbon dioxide to organic compounds by living organisms. The obvious example is photosynthesis. Carbon fixation requires both a source of energy such as sunlight, and an electron donor such as water. All life depends on fixed carbon. Organisms that...
, and plants overcome its poor activity by having massive amounts of it inside their cells, making it the most abundant protein on Earth. - The enzyme nitrogenaseNitrogenaseNitrogenases are enzymes used by some organisms to fix atmospheric nitrogen gas . It is the only known family of enzymes that accomplish this process. Dinitrogen is quite inert because of the strength of its N-N triple bond...
actually preferentially binds with acetyleneAcetyleneAcetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
over di-nitrogen, despite its being the key enzyme used in nitrogen fixation in many bacteriaBacteriaBacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
and archaeaArchaeaThe Archaea are a group of single-celled microorganisms. A single individual or species from this domain is called an archaeon...
. - The breathing reflex is stimulated not directly by the absence of oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
but rather indirectly by the presence of carbon dioxide. A result is that, at high altitudes, oxygen deprivation can occur in unadapted individuals who do not consciously increase their breathing rate. Oxygenless asphyxiation in a pure-nitrogen atmosphere has been proposed as a humane method of execution that exploits this oversight. - Sturdy but heavy bones, suited for non-flight, occurring in animals like bats. Or, on the converse: unstable, light, hollow bones, suited for flight, occurring in birds like penguins and ostriches, which cannot fly.
- Various vestigial body parts, like the femur and pelvis in whales (evolution says the ancestor of whales lived on land) or the third molar - or 'wisdom teeth' - in humans (whereas some other primates with differing jaw shapes make use of the third molar).
- Turritopsis nutriculaTurritopsis nutriculaTurritopsis nutricula, the immortal jellyfish, is a hydrozoan whose medusa, or jellyfish, form can revert to the polyp stage after becoming sexually mature. It is the only known case of a metazoan capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual...
and HydraHydra (genus)Hydra is a genus of simple fresh-water animal possessing radial symmetry. Hydras are predatory animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa. They can be found in most unpolluted fresh-water ponds, lakes, and streams in the temperate and tropical regions and can be found by...
genus have biological immortalityBiological immortalityBiological immortality refers to a stable rate of mortality as a function of chronological age. Some individual cells and entire organisms in some species achieve this state either throughout their existence or after living long enough. This requires that death occur from injury or disease rather... - Many species have strong instincts to behave in response to a certain stimulus. Natural selection can leave animals behaving in detrimental ways when they encounter supernormal stimuli - like a mothMothA moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
flying into a flame. - The sea slug Elysia chloroticaElysia chloroticaElysia chlorotica, common name the eastern emerald elysia, is a small-to-medium-sized species of green sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc. This sea slug superficially resembles a nudibranch, yet it does not belong to that suborder of gastropods. Instead it is a member of the...
can incorporate ingested chloroplasts into its cells, allowing it to get its energy from the sun (through photosynthesisPhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
). The oriental hornetOriental hornetThe Oriental hornet Vespa orientalis, is a hornet which looks very similar to the European hornet. It should not be confused with the Asian giant hornet ....
is an animal that can naturally use sunlight for energy.
Unproven assumptions
Several generic philosophical criticisms can be directed towards the first premise of the argument – that a Creator God would have designed things 'optimally'. The argument hinges on an assumption that the human concept of 'optimal design' is the same as that of God, but there is no proof that this is valid. This is, in effect, the argument of the Book of JobBook of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
:
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The passage goes on to list a number of aspects of the world that seem wonderful or miraculous. The claim is that, if we have no understanding of how the wonders of the world were created, it is presumptuous of us to believe that we can fully understand the things that appear flawed.
Optimal design engineering and trade-offs
Others argue that the observed suboptimality in one system or another is intentional, as a Trade-offTrade-off
A trade-off is a situation that involves losing one quality or aspect of something in return for gaining another quality or aspect...
to improve overall optimal design. A common example from electrical engineering would be in amplifier design: Suppose an electrical engineer uses a negative feedback loop to trade amplifier gain for stability. An naive observer may note the suboptimal gain of the amplifier and conclude the engineer made a mistake. But the low gain was intentional — it appears to be a mistake only because the observer is unaware of the engineer's design goals.
Consequences of sin
Christians argue that because of mankind's sin, the world is fallen and full of imperfections. It is argued that imperfections and apparent sub-optimal design persist in the world because of sin.Specific examples
Intelligent designIntelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
proponent William Dembski questions the first premise of the argument, maintaining a distinction between "intelligent design" and optimal design. It is noted by theists that the panda's "thumb" works well for what the panda uses it for – to strip leaves.
While the appendix has been previously credited with very little function, research has shown that it serves an important role in the fetus and young adults. Endocrine cells appear in the appendix of the human fetus at around the 11th week of development, which produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones, compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms. In young adults, the appendix has some immune functions.
Responses to criticism
Proponents have responded to many arguments against the argument from poor design. In the case of the panda's thumb, the argument is not that it works. The argument is that the design is poor, as a real digit would be functionally more effective than modified wrist bones.In addition, the plantaris muscle does atrophy. Its motor function is so minimal that its long tendon can readily be harvested for reconstruction elsewhere with little functional deficit. "Often mistaken for a nerve by freshman medical students, the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet. It has disappeared altogether in 9 percent of the population."
In response to the claim that uses have been found for "junk" DNA, proponents note that the fact that some non-coding DNA has a purpose does not establish that all non-coding DNA has a purpose, and that the human genome does include pseudogenes that are clearly nonfunctional "junk". The original study that suggested that the Makorin1-p1 served some purpose has been shown to be entirely wrong. They also note that some sections of DNA can be randomized, cut, or added to with no apparent effect on the organism in question.
With regard to the last argument, proponents note that nobody has studied the effects of increased efficiency in plants in such a way to make this determination possible. Some plants have more and less efficient photosynthesis
Photosynthetic efficiency
The photosynthetic efficiency is the fraction of light energy converted into chemical energy during photosynthesis in plants and algae. Photosynthesis can be described by the simplified chemical reactionwhere CH2O represents carbohydrates such as sugars, cellulose, and lignin.The value of the...
reactions, such as the C3
C3 carbon fixation
carbon fixation is a metabolic pathway for carbon fixation in photosynthesis. This process converts carbon dioxide and ribulose bisphosphate into 3-phosphoglycerate through the following reaction:...
, C4
C4 carbon fixation
C4 carbon fixation is one of three biochemical mechanisms, along with and CAM photosynthesis, used in carbon fixation. It is named for the 4-carbon molecule present in the first product of carbon fixation in these plants, in contrast to the 3-carbon molecule products in plants. fixation is an...
, and CAM
Crassulacean acid metabolism
Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions. The stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but open at night to collect carbon dioxide...
photosynthesis reactions. No such "damaging chemical reactions" occur in the more effective processes.
The original argument rests on the concept of oxidative stress and ROS
Reactive oxygen species
Reactive oxygen species are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen. Examples include oxygen ions and peroxides. Reactive oxygen species are highly reactive due to the presence of unpaired valence shell electrons....
– the LHC
Light-harvesting complex
A light-harvesting complex is a complex of subunit proteins that may be part of a larger supercomplex of a photosystem, the functional unit in photosynthesis. It is used by plants and photosynthetic bacteria to collect more of the incoming light than would be captured by the photosynthetic reaction...
and other components of the photosynthetic array can absorb only a certain amount of energy from sunlight. Absorbing more results in oxidative damage – a well-documented phenomenon in plants. However, this argument does nothing to invalidate the argument from poor design, as it merely shifts the focus of the question to why those specific components of the photosynthetic apparatus were designed to be unable to cope with commonly-encountered levels of solar energy. Natural selection as an explanation fares much better because it posits that photosynthesis originally evolved in an aquatic environment, then later adapted (but imperfectly) to the higher solar energy found in terrestrial environments.
As an argument regarding God
The argument from poor design is sometimes interpreted, by the argumenter or the listener, as an argument against the existence of God, or against characteristics commonly attributed to GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, such as omnipotence, omniscience, or personality. In a weaker form, it is used as an argument for the incompetence of God. The existence of "poor design" (as well as the perceived prodigious "wastefulness" of the evolutionary process) would seem to imply a "poor" designer, or a "blind" designer, or no designer at all. In Gould's words, "If God had designed a beautiful machine to reflect his wisdom and power, surely he would not have used a collection of parts generally fashioned for other purposes. Orchids are not made by an ideal engineer; they are jury-rigged...."
A counter-argument that has been made against this application of the argument – and that can be used against the argument from poor design itself – points out that the argument from poor design assumes that efficiency and neatness are the only criteria upon which the quality of biological design must be judged. The counter-argument maintains that, in addition to (or instead of) being thought of as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, God is perhaps better thought of as an artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
(possessing the ultimate artistic license
Artistic license
Artistic licence is a colloquial term, sometimes euphemism, used to denote the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by an artist to improve a piece of...
). Moreover, this application of the argument presupposes the accountability of God to the judgement of humanity, an idea most major religions consider to be an enormous conceit that is diametrically opposed to their doctrines. However, doctrinal distaste should not rule out the moral issue that a benign God would not include design flaws that lead to pain or unnecessary death, such as the appendix
Vermiform appendix
The appendix is a blind-ended tube connected to the cecum , from which it develops embryologically. The cecum is a pouchlike structure of the colon...
, coccyx
Coccyx
The coccyx , commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column. Comprising three to five separate or fused vertebrae below the sacrum, it is attached to the sacrum by a fibrocartilaginous joint, the sacrococcygeal symphysis, which permits limited movement between...
, our crowded teeth or a proclivity for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
or the birth of babies through the pelvis. See Problem of Evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
. But insufficient human knowledge may make things that actually are useful seem useless. For instance, it was once thought that tonsils were useless, but in fact they have minor disease-preventing properties. But, if we can presume to recognize good design and, yet at the same time, we plead ignorance on apparent bad design, then are we not selectively touting the "evidence" that tends logically to support our claim, while we ignore other, ostensibly equally valid "evidence" that tends logically to contradict that claim? Such evidence of poor design would certainly be expected at least to reduce the effectiveness of the argument from design.
The apparently sub-optimal design of organisms has also been used by theistic evolutionists to argue in favour of a god who uses natural selection as a mechanism of his creation. Arguers from poor design regard all these counter-arguments as a false dilemma
False dilemma
A false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...
(God designed it, or it's flawed), leading to the unfalsifiability of intelligent design – if it's good design, God did it. If it's bad design, it's a result of the Fall (Genesis 3:16 has God saying to Eve
Eve
Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...
"I will increase your trouble in pregnancy").
Further reading
- Avise, John C. (2010), Inside the Human Genome: A Case for Non-Intelligent Design, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195393430. (Review)
- Dawkins, RichardRichard DawkinsClinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
(1986). The Blind WatchmakerThe Blind WatchmakerThe Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins in which he presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. He also presents arguments to refute certain criticisms made on...
. ISBN 0-393-30448-5 - Gould, Stephen JayStephen Jay GouldStephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
(1980). The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural HistoryThe Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural HistoryThe Panda's Thumb is the second volume of collected essays by the Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. The essays were culled from his monthly column "This View of Life" in Natural History magazine, to which Gould contributed for 27 years...
. ISBN 0-393-30023-4 - Leonard, P. (1993). "Too much light," New Scientist, 139.
- Perakh, MarkMark PerakhMark Perakh , born in in Kiev, Ukraine, is a professor emeritus of Mathematics and statistical mechanics at California State University, Fullerton in Fullerton, California....
Unintelligent Design (ISBN 1-59102-084-0 – December 2003) - Witt, Jonathan. "The Gods Must Be Tidy!", Touchstone, July/August 2004.
- Woodmorappe, J.John WoodmorappeJohn Woodmorappe is the pen name of Jan Peczkis, an author who has published several articles and books with the creation science groups Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research. His main works are Noah's Ark: A Feasibility Study and the The Mythology of Modern Dating Methods...
(1999). "Why Weren't Plants Created 100% Efficient at Photosynthesis? (OR: Why Aren't Plants Black?)" - Woodmorappe, J. (2003). "Pseudogene function: more evidence" Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal/TJ 17(2):15?18.