Peter,
quote:
Essentially, Neodarwinian theory holds that evolution = random mutation plus natural selection. If these pillars cannot hold than the theory of evolution has no foundation, and all explanations that rely on it are invalid.
I was under the impression that the Neo-Darwinian synthesis was about the marriage of evolution (natural selection with variation) and genetics. I haven't been able to find a definition which states that random mutation
at the level of the genome is
essential for NDT, maybe you could point me to a definition (see qu 1 below)?
Indeed, from looking at Dr Carporale's comments on this thread, and the synopsis of the book it seems to suggest to me that there are deeper level natural selection mechanisms working
on the genome itself, which, if anything, seems to strengthen the Darwinian paradigm.
(From the
synopsis:
It appears that genomes tend to endure when their most likely mutations create effective responses to their most likely challenges. Thus frequent mutation in the area of the genome that encodes the immune system, for example, is likely to be beneficial, whereas changes that encode for "housekeeping" functions of the organism, such as respiration, can quickly be fatal. The ability to focus mutation in certain parts of the genome and keep it away from other parts enables the organism to "pre-adapt" to forthcoming changes in its environment, greatly accelerating its evolution. In fact, all of these molecular strategies are powerful drivers of evolution, as natural selection operates upon them, spurring organisms to become more efficient at evolving. Thus genome structure emerges from seeming randomness. Caporale explains all these mechanisms dynamically with rigor and clarity. She also spells out their greater implications, including the importance of diversity for survival (our own diversity, plus general biodiversity), the possibility of new types of targets for medicine (attacking the "strategies" of microbes and tumors), and the need for caution in the face of proposals to "fix" "errors" in a human genome. Most importantly, by exploring the genome and its evolutionary strategies in wonderful detail, Caporale disperses the nagging doubt that natural selection could have produced human life unassisted. Indeed, the exciting work going on right now in this area opens our minds to this possibility and strengthens the Darwinian paradigm.
)
...and I'm guessing here, but from the very title of the book and the synopsis / Dr C's
website (looks to be down at the minute - it was fine yesterday) that evolutionary (NS + variation) pressures are detected in the mutations themselves, suggesting some kind of higher order darwinian process going on - analagous to the fact that evolution itself is not a random process, but arises as a result of random mutations and selection. In the same way, "non-random" mutations in themselves arise from random mechanisms + variation (can someone correct me if I've misunderstood anything here?), via mechanisms which I gather are discussed in the book.
So a few questions to clarify my understanding:
1) What is the reasoning / background behind your assertion that NDT requires random mutations at the level of the genome?
2) If non-random mutations were an emergent property of random processes + NS occuring at a different
scale (for want of a better word) then how would this affect your conjecture?
3) Does your conjecture point to design? If so, how is this different from Paley's blind watchmaker idea applied to non-random mutations?
4) To be honest, its very difficult to see where you make a clear summary of your entire conjectural edifice - NRM, the multi-purpose genome and the "Grand Unified Theory of Biology". I don't know what it is you refer to. Would it be possible for you to describe the salient points of the whole shebang, (or at least point me to the relevant posts) - or at the very least provide a working definition of the terms?
PE
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