Creatures of Accident The Rise of the Animal Kingdom [Paperback]

The most important aspect of evolution, from a philosophical viewpoint, is the rise of complex, advanced creatures from simple, primitive ones. This vertical dimension of evolution has been downplayed in both the specialist and popular literature on evolution, in large part because it was in the past associated with unsavory political views. The avoidance of evolution's vertical dimension has, however, left evolutionary biology open to the perception, from outside, that it deals merely with the diversification of rather similar creatures, all at the same level of advancedness from a common ancestorfor example, the classic case studies of finches with different beaks or moths of different colors.

The latest incarnation of creationism, dubbed intelligent design (or ID), has taken advantage of this situation. It portrays an evolutionary process that is constantly guidedespecially in its upward directionby the hand of an unseen Creator, who is able to ensure that it ends up producing humans.Creatures of Accidentattacks the antiscience ID worldview, mainly by building a persuasive picture of how unaided evolution produces advanced creatures from simple ones by an essentially accidental process. Having built this picture, in the final chapter the book reflects on its religious implications.

Wallace Arthuris a professor of zoology at the National University of Ireland,
Galway. The author of seven previous books, he also serves as European editor of the journalEvolution and Development.

Creatures of Accident is no accidental book. It is an elegantly wrought piece of science writing from one of the leading thinkers on the evolution of animals. Arthur deftly guides us through the history of biology, from before Darwin to the latest discoveries of DNA, to create a fascinating argument about how complexity arose on Earth. Carl Zimmer, author of Evolution: The Triumph of An Idea and Soul Made Flesh

In Creaturl£