Darwin Bicentenary Part 22: Of Psychos and Anti-Theorists

I was interested to read this post on Uncommon Descent by Cornelius Hunter about epigenetics. Of particular interest are Hunter’s comments on his web page (here) where he remarks on the apparent rapidity of evolutionary change. (In fact his whole web page is worth keeping tabs on)

Some people have some very high stakes in the evolution/ID debate; the problem/puzzle/mystery solving approach is not for them because the choice of evolution or ID is bound up with life style choices, viz: world views, vested interests, social networks and above all social status. Thus, the evolution/ID question often takes on more the character of a war of badly managed anger than a fascinating riddle.

For example, if evolution is false and/or needs radical modification (to account for rapid evolutionary change, say) then I have grave doubts that some high stake evolutionists will be dispassionate enough to handle the evidence with integrity. Some would perhaps sooner kill (of the “character assassination” kind I must add!) rather than admit to weaknesses in a cherished theory.

However, turning to Hunter’s work I was interested to find out whether he was proposing a radical modification to evolutionary mechanisms or whether he accepted common descent or even whether he was a YEC. Scanning his web page I was unable to find answers to these questions, for, alas, his web page seems to be largely anti-theory.

Characters of the wild web number 13
Evolution: The Cool, The Enraged and the Desperate