Finite Time is a Problem for Evolutionary Theory (6 of 6)

Wikipedia entries on Behe's Books:

The Edge of Evolution Main article: The Edge of Evolution In 2007, Behe's book The Edge of Evolution was published arguing that while evolution can produce changes within species, there is a limit to the ability of evolution to generate diversity, and this limit (the "edge of evolution") is somewhere between species and orders.

In this book Behe's central assertion is that Darwinian evolution actually exists but plays only a limited role in the development and diversification of life on Earth. To this aim, he examines the genetic changes undergone by the malaria plasmodium genome and the human genome in response to each other's biological defenses, and identifies that "the situation resembles trench warfare, not an arms race", by considering the hemoglobin-destroying, protein pump-compromising as a "war by attrition". Starting from this example, he takes into account the number of mutations required to "travel" from one genetic state to another, as well as population size for the organism in question. Then, Behe calculates what he calls the "edge of evolution", i.e., the point at which Darwinian evolution would no longer be an efficacious agent of creative biological change, arguing that purposeful design plays a major role in the development of biological complexity, through the mechanism of producing "non-random mutations", which are then subjected to the sculpting hand of natural selection .[38]

The book was reviewed, by prominent scientists in The New York Times,[39] The New Republic,[40] The Globe and Mail,[41] Science,[42] and Nature[43] who were highly critical of the work noting that Behe appears to accept almost all of evolutionary theory, barring random mutation, which is replaced with guided mutation at the hand of an unnamed designer.[38] The book earned Behe the Pigasus Award for the year 2007.

Darwin Devolves Behe also promotes intelligent design in his 2019 book, Darwin Devolves[44] whose central premise is that the combination of random mutation and natural selection, apart from being incapable of generating novelty, is mainly a degradative force. Like his previous books, Darwin Devolves received negative reviews from the scientific community, including a scathing review in Science by Nathan H. Lents, Richard Lenski, and S. Joshua Swamidass,[45] a harsh critique by Jerry Coyne in the Washington Post,[46] and a scholarly rebuttal in Evolution from Gregory Lang and Amber Rice, Behe's colleagues at Lehigh University.[47] Lents said of Darwin Devolves and The Edge of Evolution: “his [ ] two books totally missed their marks and were easily dismissed by the scientific community.”[48]

Lang and Rice's assessment noted that while Behe rightfully acknowledges that organisms have common ancestry, it is ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHDbaT61gGg