What's Behind the Compulsion to Compare Biological Systems to Designed Artifacts?

Our friend the Seattle radio host David Boze has been traveling in England and thought of us. He sent back some interesting holiday snaps. Here, for example, is the iconic Darwin portrait by John Collier at the National Portrait Gallery, followed by a caricature of Darwin showing a monkey its reflection in a mirror.

Note the caption under the second, "Darwin never claimed that humans had descended from apes but many contemporary caricatures played upon the idea."

David also visited the Oxf...