2. The vast majority of scientifc phenomena are nonlinear and far-from-equilibrium phenomena, since all physical systems that involve three or more parts that interact strongly and persistently are nonlinear. For this reason, both science and (especially) the philosophy of science need to abandon their covert assumption that the physical universe is essentially linear, mechanical, and near-equilibrium.
This is particularly important for the science of biology, where Charles Darwin's failed, linear, statistical theory of evolution urgently needs to be replaced with Robert F. DeHaan's nonlinear, far-from-equilibrium theory of evolution, called macrodevelopment.
Phillip Engle's book THE TEN FACTS OF EVOLUTION (TTFOE for short) is a book that resolves the conflict between Darwinism and intelligent design, between science and teleology, by means of Robert F. DeHaan's theory of evolution, called macrodevelopment.
TTFOE begins by summarizing the "ten major facts" of biological evolution and then compares how two very different theories of evolution try to explain these facts. The first theory is the overwhelmingly dominant theory of neo-Darwinism, according to which evolution is the result of the interaction between random genetic mutations and “natural selection”. The second theory is Robert F. DeHaan’s theory of macrodevelopment, according to which evolution is the result of the “unfolding” of the biosphere over millions of years in a manner analogous to the “unfolding” of the biological individual within the womb during morphogenesis.
PART 1 of TTFOE is a slightly revised version of PART 2 of my earlier book FAR FROM EQUILIBRIUM, which was published in 2002. PART 2 of TTFOE consists of subsequent selected blog posts ("evolutionary essays") from my weblog, St. Benedict’s Blog., which bring everything up-to-date.
You can obtain a free PDF file of TTFOE or purchase a color softcover version of TTFOE by clicking on the picture below (or on the link in the first paragraph in this column). You can purchase a black and white softcover version of TTFOE by clicking here.
Macrodevelopment
A New Theory of Evolution
"You have done a magnificent job of integrating and extending a host of fundamental concepts that together make up the most comprehensive picture that I know of how life developed on planet earth."
-- Robert F. DeHaan
What if the evolution of the biosphere over millions of years was a process of nonlinear macrodevelopment, similar to the nonlinear development of the embryo of the biological individual in its mother's womb? What if the animals of the early Cambrian era were really generic "stem animals", analogous to the generic "stem cells" in the early embryo? What if the evolution of the biosphere historically proceeded "top down" from the generic to the specific (i.e., from phylum to class to order to family to genus and, finally, down to the species level) for essentially the same reasons as the development of the individual embryo proceeds from the most-generic stem cells down to more-specific types of cells, and ultimately down to the most-specific cells that comprise the organs in the fully developed biological individual?
Wouldn't such a nonlinear theory of evolution likely be superior to the outdated 19th century, linear, mechanical, reductionistic theory of neo-Darwinism, according to which the biosphere is (essentially) "nothing but" a statistical calculating machine? And wouldn't this theory of macrodevelopment stand the best chance of resolving the conflict between religious and scientific viewpoints with respect to the biosphere?
(It is important to note that the theory of macrodevelopment has nothing to do with the theory of intelligent design and is entirely compatible with methodological naturalism.)
In September of 1996 Robert F. DeHaan first proposed the theory of macrodevelopment in his path-breaking article "Paradoxes in Darwinian Theory Resolved by a Theory of Macrodevelopment" (PSCF 48:180). To learn more, follow the links below:
- "New Evolutionary Theory: The End of Ideology" (Phil Engle paper)
- "Symmetry in Evolution" (Phil Engle paper, published in PCID: The Journal of the ISCID, Volume 1.4, October - December 2002)
- "Teleology and Information in Biology" (Phil Engle paper, presented at the ISCID's e-symposium The Teleological Origin of Biological Information)
- "Paradoxes in Darwinian Theory Resolved by a Theory of Macrodevelopment" (DeHaan's original article)
- "Do Phyletic Lineages Evolve from the Bottom Up or Develop from the Top Down?" (another DeHaan article)
- The Theory of Macrodevelopment (a web site maintained by Carl Resler)
- An Evolutionary Manifesto: A New Hypothesis for Organic Change (Prof. John A. Davison's manifesto concerning his semi-meiosis theory of evolution, a.k.a. the prescribed evolutionary hypothesis [PEH], which is strongly complementary to DeHaan's theory.)
Phillip Engle's
book FAR
FROM EQUILIBRIUM (FFE for short) is an introduction
to science for the 21st century. FFE introduces
the reader to the emerging nonlinear paradigm in science, while
also discussing important epistemological and teleological issues related
to science. The second half of FFE is a presentation
of biological evolution from the nonlinear perspective. PART 1: ON
SYSTEMS discusses all types of physical systems from the point of view
of the nonlinear paradigm, and also includes epistemological and teleological
discussions. PART 2: ON
EVOLUTION presents biological evolution from a far-from-equilibrium perspective,
introducing the reader to Robert F. DeHaan's pathbreaking nonlinear theory
of macrodevelopment as the replacement for the outdated linear
theory of neo-Darwinism. This book is intended for the general reader and presumes only a knowledge
of high school mathematics. You can obtain
FFE from Lulu.com by clicking on the picture of FFE
below (or on the link in the first paragraph in this column). To view
or download a complete and free
Adobe PDF version, click here.
