Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. Behe is professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He advocates the idea that some structures are too complex at the biochemical level to be adequately explained as a result of evolutionary mechanisms. He has termed this concept "irreducible complexity". is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. ... A biochemist is a scientist trained and dedicated to producing results in the discipline of biochemistry. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... The Discovery Institute is a think tank structured as a non-profit foundation, founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The stated mission of the organization is to make a positive vision of the future practical. ... The Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC), is part of the Discovery Institute, a conservative Christian think tank in the United States. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Irreducible complexity (IC) is the argument intended to support intelligent design creationism[1] and refute evolution that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or less complete predecessors, and are at the same time too complex to have arisen naturally through chance mutations. ...

Behe's claims about the irreducible complexity of key cellular structures are strongly contested by the scientific community. The Department of Biological Sciences, at Lehigh University, published an official position statement which says "It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific." ^[1] His claims about intelligent design have been characterized as pseudoscience.^[2][3][4] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ...

Behe's testimony in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District is extensively cited by the judge^[5][6][7][8] in his ruling that intelligent design is not science but essentially religious in nature.^[9] Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ...

Academics

Behe grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he attended grade school at St. Margaret Mary's Parochial School and later graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)Bishop McDevitt High School.^[10][11] He graduated from Drexel University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He got his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 for his dissertation research on sickle-cell disease. From 1978 to 1982, he did postdoctoral work on DNA structure at the National Institutes of Health. From 1982 to 1985, he was assistant professor of chemistry at Queens College in New York City, where he met his wife, Celeste. In 1985 he moved to Lehigh University and is currently a Professor of Biochemistry. Due to Behe's views on evolution, Lehigh University exhibits the following disclaimer on its website: Location in Dauphin County and state of Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Dauphin Incorporated 1791 Charter 1860 Government  - Mayor Stephen R. Reed (D) Area  - City  11. ... Drexel University is an institution of higher learning and research located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms. ... This article is about the private Ivy League university in Philadelphia. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Sickle-cell disease is a group of genetic disorders caused by sickle hemoglobin (Hgb S or Hb S). ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... National Institutes of Health Building 50 at NIH Clinical Center - Building 10 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical research. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Queens College is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. ...

Personal life

Behe is married and has nine children.^[13]

Controversy: irreducible complexity & intelligent design

Main articles: Irreducible complexity and Intelligent design

Behe once fully accepted the scientific theory of evolution. After reading Evolution: A Theory In Crisis, by Michael Denton, he came to question evolution.^[14] Later, Behe came to believe that there was evidence, at a biochemical level, that there were systems that were "irreducibly complex". These were systems that he thought could not, even in principle, have evolved by natural selection, and thus must have been created by an "intelligent designer," which he believed to be the only possible alternative explanation for such complex structures. Irreducible complexity (IC) is the argument intended to support intelligent design creationism[1] and refute evolution that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or less complete predecessors, and are at the same time too complex to have arisen naturally through chance mutations. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... In mathematics, theory is used informally to refer to a body of knowledge about mathematics. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Michael John Denton (born 25 August 1943) is a British-Australian biochemist who is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago in New Zealand. ... Irreducible complexity (IC) is the argument intended to support intelligent design creationism[1] and refute evolution that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or less complete predecessors, and are at the same time too complex to have arisen naturally through chance mutations. ... Darwins illustrations of beak variation in the finches of the Galápagos Islands, which hold 13 closely related species that differ most markedly in the shape of their beaks. ... Creation (theology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

After the 1987 Edwards v. Aguillard decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court barred the required teaching of Scientific Creationism from public schools but allowed the theory on the grounds of scientific advancement of all possible sources of life, many former critics of evolution as well as a new generation felt that new strategies and language was necessary. The books of lawyer Phillip E. Johnson on intelligent design, which strayed away from direct claims about a Young Earth and stuck to criticisms of evolutionary theory and purported biased "materialist" science, provided such a model. New organizations devoted to the study of what they called intelligent design sprung up, among them the Discovery Institute. In 1996 Behe became a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (later renamed the Center for Science and Culture) the then newly-formed institution to promote intelligent design. Holding Teaching creationism in public schools is unconstitutional because it attempts to advance a particular religion. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Creation Magazine is a publication supporting young-earth creationist beliefs. ... Phillip E. Johnson Phillip E. Johnson (born 1940) is a retired UC Berkeley American law professor and author. ... Adam and Eve, the first human beings according to Genesis. ... The Discovery Institute is a think tank structured as a non-profit foundation, founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The stated mission of the organization is to make a positive vision of the future practical. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Discovery Institute is a think tank structured as a non-profit foundation, founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The stated mission of the organization is to make a positive vision of the future practical. ... The Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC) is an American organisation that espouses intelligent design (ID). ...

By this time, Behe had published his ideas on irreducible complexity in a book called Darwin's Black Box, which was popular with the public but dismissed by the scientific community. Scientists argued that Behe's claims and examples were based only on a refined form of "argument from ignorance", rather than any demonstration of the actual impossibility of explanation by natural processes. Furthermore, they asserted that he deliberately aimed the publication of this book at the general public in order to gain maximum publicity while avoiding any peer-reviews from fellow scientists or performing new research to support his claims.^[15][16] The Cover of Darwins Black Box Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 book by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The argument from ignorance, also known as argumentum ad ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance [1]) or argument by lack of imagination, is a logical fallacy in which it is claimed that a premise is true only because it has not been proven false, or that a premise is false only because...

Nevertheless, Behe's more secular arguments and credentials as a published biochemist gave the intelligent design movement its first major mainstream proponent. Behe's refusal to identify the nature of any proposed intelligent designer infuriated scientists, who see it as a move to avoid any possibility of testing the positive claims of ID while allowing him and the intelligent design movement to distance themselves from some of the more overtly religiously motivated critics of evolution.^[15]

Unlike William A. Dembski ^[17] and others in the intelligent design movement, Behe accepts the common descent of species,^[18] including that humans descended from other primates, although he claims that common descent does not by itself explain the differences between species. He also accepts the scientific consensus on the age of the Earth and the age of the Universe. William A. Dembski William Albert Bill Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher, theologian and proponent of intelligent design in opposition to the theory of evolution through natural selection. ... A color image of Earth as seen from Apollo 17. ... The age of the universe, in Big Bang cosmology, refers to the time elapsed between the Big Bang and the present day. ...

In a November 8, 1996 interview Richard Dawkins said of Behe: Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ...

"He's a straightforward creationist. What he has done is to take a standard argument which dates back to the 19th century, the argument of irreducible complexity, the argument that there are certain organs, certain systems in which all the bits have to be there together or the whole system won't work...like the eye. Darwin answered (this)...point by point, piece by piece. But maybe he shouldn't have bothered. Maybe what he should have said is...maybe you're too thick to think of a reason why the eye could have come about by gradual steps, but perhaps you should go away and think a bit harder." Richard Dawkins on Evolution and Religion

In the March/February 1997 issue of Boston Review, Prof. Russell F. Doolittle wrote a rebuttal to the claims of irreducibly complexity of certain systems, in particular he mentioned the issue of the blood clotting in his "A Delicate Balance". [1]. Later on, in 2003, Doolittle's lab published a paper in the peer-reviewed scientific journal P.N.A.S, ^[19] which demonstrates that the pufferfish lacks at least three blood clotting factors, and still is a workable system, defeating Behe's claims. Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Behe & Snoke (2004)

He published a paper, together with David Snoke, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Protein Science,^[20] which he claims supports the idea, based on the calculation of the probability of mutations required for evolution to succeed. However, it does not mention intelligent design nor irreducible complexity, which were removed, according to Behe, at the behest of the reviewers. Nevertheless, The Discovery Institute lists it as one of the "Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design".^[21] Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Michael Lynch authored a response,^[22] to which Behe and Snoke responded.^[23] Protein Science discussed the papers in an editorial.^[24] Michael Lynch is Distinguished Professor of Evolution, Population Genetics and Genomics at Indiana University. ...

Scientists were again highly critical of the claims made about the research, pointing out that it not only had been shown that a supposedly irreducibly complex structure could evolve, but that it could do so within a reasonable time even subject to unrealistically harsh restrictions. They also objected to it being claimed as published evidence for design given that it offered no design theory or attempt to model the design process, and also failed to offer an alternative to evolution.^[25]

Many of Behe's challenges to evolution have been addressed by biologist Kenneth Miller in his book, Finding Darwin's God. Behe has subsequently addressed Miller's points in an essay.^[26] There is also a different professor Kenneth Miller [1] Professor Kenneth R. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University in the United States. ... Finding Darwins God Finding Darwins God: A Scientists Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution is a 2000 book by the American cell biologist and Roman Catholic Kenneth R. Miller wherein he argues that Darwinism doesnt contradict religious faith. ...

Popular writing

Behe has written editorial features in the Boston Review, American Spectator, and The New York Times. Behe, along with fellow Discovery Institute associates William A. Dembski and David Berlinski, "tutored" Ann Coulter on science and evolution for her book Godless: The Church of Liberalism.^[27] Coulter devotes approximately one-third of the book to polemical attacks on evolution, which she terms "Darwinism".^[28] Boston Reviews July/August 2006 Issue Boston Review is a national political and literary magazine, published bimonthly by Boston Critic, Inc. ... The American Spectator is a conservative-leaning American monthly magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... William A. Dembski William Albert Bill Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher, theologian and proponent of intelligent design in opposition to the theory of evolution through natural selection. ... David Berlinski (born 1942 in New York City) is an educator and author of popular books on mathematics, and a notable proponent of intelligent design, author of numerous articles on the topic. ... Ann Hart Coulter (born December 8, 1961)[1] is an American best-selling author, columnist and political commentator. ...

Dover testimony

In Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, the first direct challenge brought in United States federal courts to an attempt to mandate the teaching of intelligent design on First Amendment grounds, Behe was called as a primary witness for the defense, and asked to support the idea that intelligent design was legitimate science. Behe's critics have pointed to a number of key exchanges that they say further undermine his claims about irreducible complexity and intelligent design. Under cross examination, Behe conceded that "there are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred".^[29] During this testimony Behe conceded that definition of 'theory' as he applied it to intelligent design was so loose that astrology would qualify as a theory by definition as well.^[30] Also while under oath, Behe admitted that his simulation modelling of evolution with Snoke had in fact shown that complex biochemical systems requiring multiple interacting parts for the system to function and requiring multiple, consecutive and unpreserved mutations to be fixed in a population could evolve within 20,000 years, even if the parameters of the simulation were rigged to make that outcome as unlikely as possible.^{[31] [32]} Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ... The United States federal courts are the system of courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... The Bill of Rights in the National Archives The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. ...

The judge in his final ruling relied heavily upon Behe's testimony for the defense, citing:

• "Consider, to illustrate, that Professor Behe remarkably and unmistakably claims that the plausibility of the argument for ID depends upon the extent to which one believes in the existence of God."^[5]
• "As no evidence in the record indicates that any other scientific proposition's validity rests on belief in God, nor is the Court aware of any such scientific propositions, Professor Behe's assertion constitutes substantial evidence that in his view, as is commensurate with other prominent ID leaders, ID is a religious and not a scientific proposition."^[5]
• "First, defense expert Professor Fuller agreed that ID aspires to "change the ground rules" of science and lead defense expert Professor Behe admitted that his broadened definition of science, which encompasses ID, would also embrace astrology. Moreover, defense expert Professor Minnich acknowledged that for ID to be considered science, the ground rules of science have to be broadened to allow consideration of supernatural forces."^[6]
• "What is more, defense experts concede that ID is not a theory as that term is defined by the NAS and admit that ID is at best "fringe science" which has achieved no acceptance in the scientific community."^[7]
• "We therefore find that Professor Behe's claim for irreducible complexity has been refuted in peer-reviewed research papers and has been rejected by the scientific community at large."^[8]
• "ID proponents primarily argue for design through negative arguments against evolution, as illustrated by Professor Behe’s argument that “irreducibly complex” systems cannot be produced through Darwinian, or any natural, mechanisms. However, … arguments against evolution are not arguments for design. Expert testimony revealed that just because scientists cannot explain today how biological systems evolved does not mean that they cannot, and will not, be able to explain them tomorrow. As Dr. Padian aptly noted, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”… Irreducible complexity is a negative argument against evolution, not proof of design, a point conceded by defense expert Professor Minnich."^[33]
• "Professor Behe’s concept of irreducible complexity depends on ignoring ways in which evolution is known to occur. Although Professor Behe is adamant in his definition of irreducible complexity when he says a precursor “missing a part is by definition nonfunctional,” what he obviously means is that it will not function in the same way the system functions when all the parts are present. For example in the case of the bacterial flagellum, removal of a part may prevent it from acting as a rotary motor. However, Professor Behe excludes, by definition, the possibility that a precursor to the bacterial flagellum functioned not as a rotary motor, but in some other way, for example as a secretory system."^[34]
• "Professor Behe has applied the concept of irreducible complexity to only a few select systems: (1) the bacterial flagellum; (2) the blood-clotting cascade; and (3) the immune system. Contrary to Professor Behe’s assertions with respect to these few biochemical systems among the myriad existing in nature, however, Dr. Miller presented evidence, based upon peer-reviewed studies, that they are not in fact irreducibly complex."^[35]
• "...proponents assert that they refuse to propose hypotheses on the designer’s identity, do not propose a mechanism, and the designer, he/she/it/they, has never been seen. … Professor Behe’s only response to these seemingly insurmountable points of disanalogy was that the inference still works in science fiction movies."^[36]

Published material

Books

• Darwin's Black Box. Free Press, 1996. ISBN 0-684-83493-6
• The Edge of Evolution. Free Press, June 2007. ISBN 0-743-29620-6
• Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe (Proceedings of the Wethersfield Institute), September 25, 1999. ISBN 0-89870-809-5

The Cover of Darwins Black Box Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 book by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... Free Press is an imprint of Simon & Schuster with headquarters in New York City. ... The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism is book by intelligent design proponent Michael Behe published by the conservative publisher Free Press in 2007. ... Free Press is an imprint of Simon & Schuster with headquarters in New York City. ...

Videos

• Intelligent Design: From the Big Bang to Irreducible Complexity
• Unlocking the Mystery of Life
• Irreducible Complexity: The Biochemical Challenge to Darwinian Theory
• Where Does the Evidence Lead?

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Discovery Institute is a think tank structured as a non-profit foundation, founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The stated mission of the organization is to make a positive vision of the future practical. ... Michael Lynch is Distinguished Professor of Evolution, Population Genetics and Genomics at Indiana University. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Michael Behe

• Lehigh University Faculty bio
• Behe's Amazon Blog
• International Society for Complexity Information and Design
• Discovery institute biography
  • Discovery Institute articles by Behe
• Behe at Access Research Network
• Irreducible Complexity and Michael Behe on intelligent design — part of the talk.origins archive.
• Irreducible Complexity Demystified
• Behe's Empty Box, on Richard Dawkins academic website
• Michael Behe
• H. Allen Orr's rebuttal of Behe
• The 1997 Firing Line Creation-Evolution Debate
• Video Lecture: Behe on the Argument for Design
• Michael Behe at the Internet Movie Database
• Unlocking the Mystery of Life the flagellar motor video
• Inferior Design Richard Dawkins' New York Times Book Review of Behe's The Edge of Evolution