Michael J. Behe

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Michael J. Behe

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Michael J. Behe is Professor of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. Behe's current research involves delineation of design and natural selection in protein structures.

In addition to publishing over 35 articles in refereed biochemical journals, he has also written editorial features in Boston Review, American Spectator, and The New York Times. His book, Darwin's Black Box discusses the implications for neo-Darwinism of what he calls "irreducibly complex" biochemical systems. The book was internationally reviewed in over one hundred publications and recently named by National Review and World magazine as one of the 100 most important book...more


Michael J. Behe isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but he does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from his feed.

Recently a new paper by Richard Lenski and colleagues (Meyer et al 2012) appeared inScience ( http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6067/428.short ) with, as usual, commentary in theNew York Times. ( http://tinyurl.com/7xthu7q ) (Lenski's lab must own a red phone with a direct line to The Gray Lady.) The gist of the paper is that a certain bacteriophage (a virus that infects bacteria) called "l...

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Average rating: 3.44 · 1,286 ratings · 216 reviews · 16 distinct works
Darwin's Black Box: The Bio...
3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 avg rating — 980 ratings — published 1996 — 12 editions
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The Edge of Evolution: The ...
3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 avg rating — 137 ratings — published 2007 — 11 editions
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The Edge of Evolution: The ...
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Experimental Evolution: Los...
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Intelligent Design: The Bri...
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3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 1999 — 3 editions
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Uncommon Dissent: Intellect...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions
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Mere Creation: Science, Fai...
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3.29 of 5 stars 3.29 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1998
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Darwinism Under The Microsc...
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3.0 of 5 stars 3.00 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions
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Darwin on Trial
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 372 ratings7 editions
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A Scientific Dissent from D...
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4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2001
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“In the abstract, it might be tempting to imagine that irreducible complexity simply requires multiple simultaneous mutations - that evolution might be far chancier than we thought, but still possible. Such an appeal to brute luck can never be refuted... Luck is metaphysical speculation; scientific explanations invoke causes.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution

“Random mutations much more easily debilitate genes than improve them, and that this is true even of the helpful mutations. Let me emphasize, our experience with malaria’s effects on humans (arguably our most highly studied genetic system) shows that most helpful mutations degrade genes. What’s more, as a group the mutations are incoherent, meaning that they are not adding up to some new system. They are just small changes - mostly degradative - in pre-existing, unrelated genes. The take-home lesson is that this is certainly not the kind of process we would expect to build the astonishingly elegant machinery of the cell. If random mutation plus selective pressure substantially trashes the human genome, why should we think that it would be a constructive force in the long term? There is no reason to think so.”
Michael J. Behe

“The conclusion of intelligent design flows naturally from the data itself—not from sacred books or sectarian beliefs. Inferring that biochemical systems were designed by an intelligent agent is a humdrum process that requires no new principles of logic or science. It comes simply from the hard work that biochemistry has done over the past forty years, combined with consideration of the way in which we reach conclusions of design every day.”
Michael J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution



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