No Teleology or Theology in Biology

The concepts Chance, Change, Coincidence, Philosophy, Causality, Teleology, Theology and Evolution theory in respective perspective.

On the Origin of Pedigree Dogs by Means of Manual Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life [2]

"Court decides that breeder is liable" was the captive content of three consecutive articles by Dick Wittenberg, journalist for the Dutch top-notch newspaper NRC (3 and 4 January 2013). I wrote about that exactly a year ago On the Origin of Dogs Races by Means of Manual Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

The Centre of the Universe

The early Greeks wrote gnothi seauton (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), “Know Thyself” on the walls of the Temple of Delphi, thousands of years ago. Cogito ergo sum. I think therefore I am. A thought by René Descartes as he wrote in his Principia Philosophiae (1644). In short it captures the concept that the only thing I really know, the only thing I can be sure of is me, myself and I. Not in a physical sense, not as body, but I do have thoughts and that at least is Me.

On the Origin of Dog Race by Means of Manual Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

"Nice head, pity the brain doesn't fit in" was the captive caption of a two-page article by Lucas Brouwers, science journalist for the Dutch top-notch newspaper NRC (7 January 2012, Weekend Science Annex). It describes the excessive failures of professional dog breeders to come up with healthy strains, "races", of dogs.

Darwin, DNA, the dodo and the digital depot

Sander Kooreman wrote a blog called Darwin, DNA, the dodo and the digital depot. In this article he lent some examples from evolutionary biology to make his points. This is the first in a series of examples I will blog about to show biology misconceptions.

On Bio and Scio

In 2011 I found, at last, the time to start writing some public comments on many subjects. I opened a blog on ICT and policy called NewtOnICT and Dutch-language one on teleworking and on the concept of the "New Way of Work", called TeleWerkWijzer.

But the feeling that all too many people have corrupted ideas on how Nature works keeps nagging. Time and again I proof-read university and business papers, on all kinds of subjects, where the author uses Nature as a concept, as a model. And these examples are almost always based on misconceptions on how the world of Biology works or even how Science in general operates.

So here I will take time to post my personal ideas on these matters, both as a source of fun and learning but also as a warning to take what people write about nature not too lightly. Nature is a bitch in keeping her secrets. Unlike superstitions, which are based on their own proof, Nature does not accept any proof. If anything, proof is the end result but never the beginning.

And ... the proof you rely on will in the end always show to be only a flimsy shadow of the real thing - thank you, Plato.