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Michael Behe Biography

Michael J. Behe (/ˈbiːhiː/ BEE-hee; born January 18, 1952) is an American biochemist, author, and advocate of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (ID). He serves as professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and as a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. Behe is best known as an advocate for the validity of the argument for irreducible complexity (IC), which claims that some biochemical structures are too complex to be explained by known evolutionary mechanisms and are therefore probably the result of intelligent design. Behe has testified in several court cases related to intelligent design, including the court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District that resulted in a ruling that intelligent design was not science and was religious in nature.

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Michael Behe Quotes

As can be seen even by this limited number of examples proteins carry out amazingly diverse functions.

Amazingly, Diverse, Example, Number, Numbers, Protein

Biology has progressed tremendously due to the model that Darwin put forth. But the black boxes Darwin accepted are now being opened, and our view of the world is again being shaken.

Accepted, Black, Progressed, Tremendously, Views, World

It is often said that science must avoid any conclusions which smack of the supernatural.

Conclusion, Conclusions, Said, Smack, Supernatural

Since natural selection requires a function to select, an irreducibly complex biological system, if there is such a thing, would have to arise as an integrated unit for natural selection to have anything to act on.

Arise, Integrated, Natural, Requires, Select, Thing

The trap does not work until all the parts were there. The system itself doesn't work until you fit all of them together.

Fit, System, Together, Trap

I believe the evidence strongly supports common descent. But the root question remains unanswered: What has caused complex systems to form?

Believe, Evidence, Remains, Root, Roots, Support

In the 19th century the anatomy of the eye was known in great detail and the sophisticated mechanisms it employs to deliver an accurate picture of the outside world astounded everyone who was familiar with them.

Astounded, Details, Eye, Sophisticated, World

It was only about sixty years ago that the expansion of the universe was first observed.

Expansion, Firsts, Sixty, Universe, Years

Science is not a game in which arbitrary rules are used to decide what explanations are to be permitted.

Arbitrary, Explanations, Games, Permitted, Used

The basic structure of proteins is quite simple: they are formed by hooking together in a chain discrete subunits called amino acids.

Chain, Simple, Structure, Ties, Together

Thus it seemed to Haeckel that such simple life could easily be produced from inanimate material.

Easily, Inanimate Objects, Life, Material, Simple, Simple Life

The question is: exactly how did life get here? Was it by natural selection and random mutation or was it by something else? Everybody - even Richard Dawkins - sees design in biology. You see this design when you see co-ordinated parts coming together to perform a function - like in a hand. And so it's the appearance of design that everybody's trying to explain. So that if Darwin's theory doesn't explain it we're left with no other explanation than maybe it really was designed. That's essentially the design argument.

Design, Parts, See, Together, Trying

In many biological structures proteins are simply components of larger molecular machines.

Machines, Molecular, Protein, Structure, Structures

It is a shock to us in the twentieth century to discover, from observations science has made, that the fundamental mechanisms of life cannot be ascribed to natural selection, and therefore were designed. But we must deal with our shock as best we can and go on.

Fundamentals, Goes On, Life, Natural, Shock, Twentieth

Skin is made in large measure of a protein called collagen.

Collagen, Made, Protein, Skin, Skins

Proteins are the machinery of living tissue that builds the structures and carries out the chemical reactions necessary for life.

Chemical, Chemical Reactions, Reactions, Structure, Tissue, Tissues

For example, both humans and chimps have a broken copy of a gene that in other mammals helps make vitamin C. . . . It's hard to imagine how there could be stronger evidence for common ancestry of chimps and humans. . . . Despite some remaining puzzles, there's no reason to doubt that Darwin had this point right, that all creatures on earth are biological relatives.

Broken, Doubt, Gene, Imagine, Mammals, Stronger

Despite some remaining puzzles, there's no reason to doubt that Darwin had this point right, that all creatures on earth are biological relatives

Biological, Darwin, Doubt, Earth, Reason, Relatives

In order to say that some function is understood, every relevant step in the process must be elucidated.

Elucidated, Order, Process, Say, Steps, Understood

In Darwin's time all of biology was a black box: not only the cell, or the eye, or digestion, or immunity, but every biological structure and function because, ultimately, no one could explain how biological processes occurred.

Black, Cells, Explain, Eye, Structure

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