Kenneth R. Miller (1) (1948–)
Autor von Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution
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Kenneth R. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University and the critically acclaimed bestselling author of Only a Theory, Finding Darwin's God. Among his honors are the Stephen Jay Could Prize from the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Laetare Medal from the University of Notre Dame, mehr anzeigen and the Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. weniger anzeigen
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- Rechtmäßiger Name
- Miller, Kenneth Raymond
- Geburtstag
- 1948
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- USA
- Ausbildung
- Brown University (Sc.B ∙ Biology - 1970)
University of Colorado (Ph.D - Biology -1974) - Berufe
- professor
- Preise und Auszeichnungen
- Exploratorium's Outstanding Educator Award
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Cell Biology Public Service Award (2006)
Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology (2008)
Laetare Medal (2014) - Kurzbiographie
- Kenneth R. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University. His scientific papers and reviews have appeared in leading journals, including Cell, Nature, and Scientific American. Miller is coauthor, with Joseph S. Levine, of four high school and college biology textbooks that are used by millions of students nationwide. In 2007, he was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and received the Exploratorium's Outstanding Educator Award. He lectures widely and has appeared on NPR's Science Friday and The Colbert Report. [from Only a Theory (2008)]
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How can free will emerge from responses in a system that is dependent on physical events, without violating cause and effect? Perhaps quantum entanglement from electrons in microtubules, producing changes in neuronal firing rates that are acted on by the rest of the brain to generate the undetermined choices that underly free will (Penrose and Hameroff). The other possibility is in the instantaneous changes in synaptic sensitivity after the passage of a stimulus, resetting the criteria for processing new information, and therefore the result of the processing, allowing for mental changes to alter responses to stimuli. The number of degrees of freedom that humans have is far greater than other creatures. "We are the only creatures whose members can imagine the adaptive landscape of possibilitis beyond the physical landscape, who can "see" across the valleys to other conceivable peaks" (Daniel Dennett). However, in evolution, free will might exist only as an illusion: "The illusion of free will is deeply ingrained precisely because it prevents us from falling into a suicidally fatalistic state of mind - it is one of the brain's most powerful aids to survival" (Rita Carter).
Conway Morris published "The Runes of Evolution", studying convergences of evolution in organisms as they fill the same niches in the environment. Perhaps intelligence is a solution to a particular niche, and may have evolved in disparate organisms, possibly the octopus. "They possess camera like eyes that are remarkably like ours, and have similar visual processing architecture. Lacking an internal skeleton they have no joints. Yet when grasping large objects, a wave of muscular contractions stiffens the tentacle in a way that forms a pseudo-joint very much like our elbow to leverage the weight. They learn readily, exhibit individual personality and playfulness, employ tools, and show amazing adaptability in solving problems."
Miller comes to a conclusion that humans should be aware of their biological heritage and place in evolution, but also respond with joy and delight as the branch of living diversity that evolved to make sense of it all. "Far from diminishing us, kKnowing the details of Adam's journey enobles us as the carrier of something truly precious - the genetic, biological and cultural heritage of life itself"… (mehr)