River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (Science Masters)

This book is truly fascinating, and it most certainly reveals insights into the minds of neo-Darwinists such as Dawkins. I found that his chapter 'God's Utility Function' to be the most significant and thought provoking chapter in 'River out of Eden', for it reveals the heart of his argument that the 'Watchmaker' is blind. Dawkins claims that, if one looks at living organisms, one can ask what their Utility Function seems to be. That is, if they had been wisely engineered, or designed for some purpose, what would we infer that purpose to be, simply by looking at their present nature?

First, Dawkins takes the design of a cheetah and concludes that its make-up is "precisely what we should expect if God's purpose in designing cheetahs was to maximise deaths among antelopes."

He continues, "Conversely, if we reverse-engineer an antelope we find equally impressive evidence of design for precisely the opposite end: the survival of antelopes and starvation among cheetahs."

Dawkins then asks "If there was only one creator who made the tiger and the lamb, the cheetah and the gazelle, what is He playing at? Is He a sadist who enjoys spectator blood sports? Is he manoeuvring to maximise David Attenborough's television ratings?"

Inevitably, he says that the answer to these question is "no", and then concludes that the real Utility Function of life "is the survival of DNA ... Everything makes sense once you assume that DNA survival is what is being maximised."

Dawkins' conclusions have therefore satisfied his intentions of undermining the belief that a Deity is the reason for our existence. But after a little analysis, it becomes clear that Dawkins' conclusion is deeply fallacious, and is actually very wrong.

Firstly, the survival of genes is simply NOT maximised by evolution. The whole process of evolution proceeds by the mutation of genetic material, that is, by replacing genes by other genes. Evolution is the gradual re-arrangement of DNA codes, to form ever more sophisticated programs for building bodies. So the utility function of life is simply NOT the survival of pieces of genetic code.

So what is this genetic program for? It is for building more and more complex bodies.

Complex bodies make possible the development of central nervous systems and then of brains. Brains generate consciousness, and with this, intrinsic purpose comes into existence. With intrinsic purpose and consciousness comes love, friendship and spiritual creativity. So if there is a Utility Function to life at all, then this is it.

Dawkins has fallaciously concluded that the preservation of bits of DNA "is the ultimate rationale for our existence". But nothing less convincing or more pointless could be said for the existence of bodies such as ours.

When Dawkins talks about a Utility Function at all, he is speaking in terms of purpose and agency, yet at the same time explicitly denies its existence. Who could give a fig for the survival of bits of DNA? Not genes, which know and care for nothing. Not God, who can hardly find intrinsic worthwhileness in the existence of strings of nucleic acids. Not us, because before us, genes were unconscious atoms which had no intention to build people, (and to imply that they did is to contradict Dawkins' view that evolution is blind and purposeless with no goal in mind). Nothing can have intrinsic purpose unless it is actually valued by some conscious being.

Going back to cheetahs and gazelles - it is completely valid to propose that they are simply part of Creation, the intricate chain of life which by no means invalidate the existence of a God. The existence of human beings such as ourselves, which can experience love and spirituality, completely complements the existence of God and a true Utility Function for life.

Dawkins' first chapter 'The Digital River' is sheer rhetoric, for it merely ASSUMES that random mutations driven by natural selection is the sole 'driving' force of evolution. But this is not imperative science - this is hope and faith. Scientists are pretty much certain that evolution has occurred, but they are far from sure that natural selection has given rise to sentient beings such as ourselves. Neo-Darwinists merely hope that it has. There are huge unanswered questions and issues about the theory of natural selection, and most scientists are aware that a far more dynamic and creative process is necessary if all the phenomena of life are to be properly explained, (e.g. nervous systems, brains, and consciousness).

This book is good for people who want to learn about Darwinian ideology and the personal beliefs of neo-Darwinists.

A brilliant and beautiful account of natural selection (4/4 people found this helpful)

Richard Dawkins is a master at explaining the principles of evolution in a way that is accessible to readers, whether they are experts in the field or novices. His books are thought-provoking to readers of all backgrounds. River out of Eden continues the tradition he has set in his previous books. It is hugely enjoyable, full of ideas, metaphors and beautifully written English. The narrative builds in excitement and I could not put it down when I first read it, and now still dip in to marvel at the ideas. Richard Dawkins' view of gene-driven natural selection is not pessimistic but hugely enlightening and this book explains and develops the concept in a way that shows the excitement of modern biology. As a Biology teacher, I recommend this book to all my students (including non-biologists) as a thought-provoking way of looking at the wonder of theoretical life sciences. The world is seen through different eyes as a believer in Darwinism.

River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (Science Masters)

Richard Dawkins

Reader Reviews:

A very interesting book (5/12 people found this helpful)

A brilliant and beautiful account of natural selection (4/4 people found this helpful)

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