The Fact of Evolution? is a free on-line book that questions whether the broad claims of the Theory of Evolution should be classified as facts. Clicking on one of the following links will select a Table of Contents that lists each chapter of the book in one of three different data formats: HTML, PDF, and Microsoft Word. Or the entire book is available in this PDF Print Version.
The Table of Contents also lists a set of companion documents that are formatted in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) style with links to sub-topics. The Introduction, About Science, and About Religion documents provide a basic discussion related to the subject material of this book. Readers unfamiliar with the debate over the Fact of Evolution may wish to view these documents first.
The remaining companion documents discuss various logistical issues related to this book and website: About The Author, About This Book, About This Website, About Printing, and About Copyright. All the companion documents are available from the Table of Contents in three different data formats: HTML, PDF, and Microsoft Word.
A free public display of this book is available on the Fact of Evolution Website and on this blog. If you have comments on this book and/or wish to ask me a question, you can use either the website's comment form, or the blog's comment form. If requested, I can post a public response on the blog, or I can email a private response (if you choose to include your email address on the website's comment form).
I am one of the many skeptics who doubt that the Theory of Evolution deserves to be called the Fact of Evolution. Evolutionary skeptics can be logically grouped into two primary groups: “Intelligent Design” advocates and “Biblical Creationists.” Biblical Creationists can be viewed as Intelligent Design advocates who claim that the Judeo-Christian God served as the Intelligent Designer.
Intelligent Design advocates, whether or not they are Biblically oriented, are often accused of undermining science by bringing religion into the debate. However, Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel are two very famous Origin of Life Researchers who have described the possibility that life on earth had a non-religious intelligent designer:
We have considered Directed Panspermia, the theory that organisms were deliberately transmitted to the earth by intelligent beings on another planet. We conclude that it is possible that life reached the earth in this way, but that the scientific evidence is inadequate at the present time to say anything about the probability. (from Francis H. C. Crick and Leslie E. Orgel, “Directed Panspermia,” Icarus 19:341-6, 1973, p. 341, as quoted from the website: http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/SC/B/C/C/P/_/scbccp.pdf)
If one can't estimate the probability that life was sent to earth by intelligent aliens, then one can't estimate the probability that life was not put on earth by intelligent aliens - because the two probabilities are related. Thus, the probability that life evolved on earth (rather than being put here by intelligent aliens) is an unknown variable. Although neither Crick or Orgel sought to mix religion with science, they affirmed the logical possibility of an intelligent designer.
Although Intelligent Design advocates are often accused of abandoning science for religion, all of the Intelligent Design advocates I am aware of believe that living organisms function according to the laws of physics and chemistry, that Mendel’s experiments uncovered the laws of genetic inheritance, that genetic mutations and natural selection are scientific facts, and that complex molecular machines allow cells to function.
None of these beliefs have anything at all to do with religion. The only science that Intelligent Design advocates seek to undermine is the theoretical claim that biochemical complexity arose without the input of an external intelligent source. If you are interested in understanding why I make that claim, please select a chapter from one of these links (HTML, PDF, and Microsoft Word) and start reading.
All of the documents posted on this website are covered by a US copyright and they should not be sold in any format. All versions of these documents are subject to these Usage Terms in the About Copyright document, whether in print or electronic form. These documents contain many short quotes that have previously been copyrighted by other sources. Please obey the Usage Terms for this website and respect copyright laws.
There is currently no published print version. However, the About Printing document describes various options for printing this book yourself. Each of the chapters may be printed individually. Or the entire book may be printed using this PDF Print Version. All of these documents may be printed in black and white, as the only color portion is the hyperlinks they contain.
Over time, I expect to make minor revisions to the documents posted on this website. For example, these revisions may be used to correct various grammar errors, minor wording issues, technical inaccuracies, and to update websites that have changed location. This document contains a Revision History with a brief summary of all the changes I have made since first making my website public on March 31, 2011.
