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The Biochemical Basis for Life:
Is a Materialistic Approach
Compatible with Orthodoxy?
David DeAtkine, Jr., MD,FACE
Review
Newtonian Physics and the Rise of
Determinism
Relativity and Quantum Theory and the
Destruction of Determinism in the Physical
Sciences
The Landmark Discovery of DNA, and the
Rise of Determinism in the Biological
Sciences
Theorems
Determinism persists and will continue in the biological sciences
Coherence, connectivity, and beauty in the construct of the natural
world is seen at the subatomic, biological, and astronomical levels
Death and renewal are integral to the biological world
An understanding of biological processes make the understanding
of physical self problematic, just as an understanding of quantum
physics makes the idea of locality problematic.
Neuroscientific and cellular metabolic advances may create
problems for the Platonic idea of the strictly separate body and spirit
The Incarnation must change how we view the natural world
An understanding of the natural world, specifically the biological
sciences, may change how we view the Sacraments
Lesson 2
The History of Evolution
Darwin and Neo-Darwinism
Supportive Data for Evolution
Problems with Darwinism
Evolution and Human Behavior
More Reflections on Cellular Physiology –
“Darwin’s Black Box”
The History of Evolution
George Cuvier– the
father of paleontology
Concluded that all
fossilized animal were
different than modern
species
Dismissed
“gradualism” in the
development of new
species
Cuvier
Insisted that anatomical
interactions were so
precise that gradations in
form would render the
organism unfit for survival
Noted periods of
astonishing diversity in
the geologic record
without seeming
precedent species
Recognized some
anatomic continuity
Jean Baptist Pierre Antoine de
Monet, chevalier de Lamarck
Published “The
Transmutation
Hypothesis” in 1802
Spontaneous
generation of life
Gelatinous matter or
germ matter which
transmitted
successful traits
Paleontology
William Buckland
Discovered the first
great land lizard in a
slate quarry near
Oxford, 1810s
Paleontology
Megalosaurus
The discovery of
dinosaurs fueled the
general public’s
interest in geology,
and paleontology.
A Changing World
Heretofore, the universe
(under Newton’s laws of
absolute space and time) and
species were generally thought
immutable.
Though philosophical and
economic theory had
suggested the concept of
evolution, to the average 19th
century man or woman the
concept was fresh,
provocative, and in some
ways fashionable….
Charles Darwin
B. 1809
HMS Beagle 1831
commission as a
“gentleman naturalist”
Darwin and Galapagos
Geographic observations
Detailed observations of
wildlife and their
similarities and
dissimilarities to mainland
species
Assisted in great part by
the crew of the HMS
Beagle and naturalists
back home (Gould,
especially) in identifying
the locations of origin of
the many species Darwin
collected.
Darwin’s Essential Principles
Species evolve by natural selection.
Individuals within a species compete for
survival in a world with limited resources
leaving the fittest to survive and reproduce
(one can easily trace the origins of marxist
thought in these few phrases).
Darwin’s Essential Principles
Ecological pressure exerted upon various
traits, “selects” those traits most likely to
furnish the individual with survivability and
reproductive capability.
“On the Origin of Species” was published
in 1859.
Darwin was well aware of the implications
for man’s development, and the public
quickly appreciated this as well.
Darwin
Differential death rates
caused by purely natural
forces creates new
species, not God.
“The Descent of Man”
published in 1872 where
his views on human
development – extending
to human behavior –
were elucidated.
Darwin saw evolution
reaching its pinnacle in
man, and the British
Gentleman in particular.
The Modern Synthesis
The discovery of DNA has given “meat to the
bones” of evolutionary thought in that the
mechanism of trait expression and transmission
is now more clearly elucidated. Random
Mutation is now seen as an important “source”
for fresh genetic material.
DNA  genes  traits
dDNA dGene dTrait selection  survival
The Modern Synthesis
Evidence corroborating Neo-Darwinism:
Princeton scientists have demonstrated
evolution in the beak size of finches over several
generations.
Moths in the industrial nations have been shown
to evolve in their coloration in response to
environmental change – soot vs no soot.
The emergence of human-infecting retroviruses
and antibacterial resistance is the most elegant
demonstration of evolution seen in modern
biology.
The Modern Synthesis
More evidence:
Homology of anatomic structures
Interdependence and symbiosis
The Modern Synthesis
Evolution is seen as established fact in most
quarters.
Those who question its precepts are vilified. But
Darwin himself posed the following caveat:
“If it could be demonstrated that any complex
organ existed which could not possibly have
been formed by numerous, successive, slight
modifications, my theory would absolutely break
down.”
The Trouble with Darwin
The Origins of Life
The Cambrian Explosion
Irreducible Complexity
Intellectual Dishonesty
Metaphysical Arguments regarding the
behavior of Man
The Origins of Life
Biologists always and everywhere get into
trouble when they believe they are as smart as
physicists.
When life was thought capable of spontaneously
generating in any reasonably permissive
environment there wasn’t much trouble with
envisioning the whole cascade.
As biochemistry has matured as a discipline, the
stupendous complexity of basic cellular
organelles and functions make the proposition of
creating the basics of self-replicating life
increasingly problematic
The Origins of Life
The early atmosphere is traditionally
assumed to be nearly anoxic, hostile to
most current forms of life but a reasonable
environment for the envisioned “prebiotic”
molecules to develop.
More recent discoveries include oxygen
dependent algae present at 3.5 billion ya.
The Origins of Life
A discussion with Richard Smalley:
The oldest “rocks” date back ~ 4.2 GA.
Life is present 3.8 GA
The above conundrum forces some
Darwinists to abandon the “give it time”
defense and posit that it wouldn’t take that
much time to evolve early life, after all, or
that it in fact came from elsewhere.
The Origins of Life
Biological homochirality of sugars and
amino acids remains an enigma.
The “RNA hypothesis” is fraught with
chemical difficulties.
The Origins of Life and DNA
Paradoxes
DNA is maintained by multiple enzymes with
which it must cohabitate or denature
(dissolve)…..but DNA codes for the enzymes
which must support it???
Overlapping code!! How would this evolve?
The presence of non-universal codes for
enzymes makes evolutionary theory a doubtful
explanation.
Introns and exons
The Cambrian Explosion
The Cambrian Explosion
The Cambrian Explosion
The Cambrian Explosion
The Cambrian Explosion
Irreducible Complexity
a system or device is irreducibly complex
if it has a number of components which
work together, and in which, each
component is vital to the function of the
said device.
Irreducibly complex organelles cannot
evolve…could they occur via simultaneous
mutation?
Irreducible Complexity
DNA and host proteins
The flagellum
Irreducible Complexity
Irreducible Complexity
The statistical probabilility of the potential
for any number of essential organelles
developing via the standard Darwinian
paradigm is zero.
The “give it time” defense is not adequate
for the origin of life, the Cambrian
explosion, or irreducibly complex systems
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Altruism
There are fairly reasonable arguments for
the presence of altruistic precursors.
Examples: the mating/reproductive habits
of birds, and mammals
Domestic animals
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Sentience
Art
Evil
Intellectual Dishonesty
Even atheistic biologists have learned to
approach the study of biological systems
as if they were designed.
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Sentience:
There isn’t a Darwinian explanation for
sentience. It does not necessarily confer
survival-fitness.
Neo-Darwinian explanations for improving
nutritional states for increasing brain size and
capacity are weak.
The most remarkable thing about the universe is
that the universe has become aware (through
us) of itself.
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Art:
No survival benefit is conferred by art, but
it is the footprint of man. Anywhere and
everywhere that we see evidence of art,
we know that Man was there.
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Evil:
There are no natural or biological
equivalent antecedents for evil.
There are no Darwinian motives or
survival-benefits conferred by evil.
As early as there is evidence of
civilization, one sees evidence of
abomination.
Metaphysical Arguments: Evolution
and the Behavior of Man
Evil:
Moloch, and Baal
The Conjuring of Demons
A Look Inside the Black Box
Insulin and the insulin receptor
The death receptor
Summation
Evolutionary thought preceded Darwin.
Evolution is verifiable.
Evolution as a “Unifying Theory” is
incomplete, in fact, fatally flawed.
One can only approach the study of
physiology and biochemistry from a
teleological point of view, in short, why it
was designed as it was.
Review of Theorems
Determinism persists and will continue in the biological
sciences (despite grave defects in a strictly Darwinistic
view of the origins of life)
Coherence, connectivity, and beauty in the construct of
the natural world is seen at the subatomic, biological,
and astronomical levels
Death and renewal are integral to the biological world.
(Death is the instrument of Darwinistic determination.)
An understanding of biological processes make the
understanding of physical self problematic, just as an
understanding of quantum physics makes the idea of
locality problematic. (What are we? Where does me stop
and the rest of the natural world begin?)
To Be Continued……….