Page 144 - Confessions of the Evolutionists

142 CONFESSIONS OF THE EVOLUTIONISTS

Prof. Cemal Yıldırım, a Turkish evolutionist, is Professor of

Philosophy at Middle East Technical University:
In order to see, there is a need for a large number of mechanisms to co-
operate: we may speak of links between the eye and its internal mecha-
nisms and between the eye and the special center in the brain. How did
this complex structure come about?

According to biologists, during the process of evolution the first step in
the formation of the eye was taken with the formation of a small, light-
sensitive region in the skins of certain primitive creatures. However, what
evolutionary advantage could such a small occurrence bestow on an or-
ganism all by itself? Together with that region, a nerve network connect-
ing it to a visual center in the brain would also need to be constructed.
Unless these rather complex mechanisms are linked together, we cannot
expect the phenomenon we know as "sight" to emerge. Darwin believed
that variations emerged at random. If that were so, would it not be a mys-
terious puzzle how the great number of variations necessary for sight
all came together and cooperated at the same time in various different
parts of the organism's body?... The fact is that a string of complementary
changes-all of which must work together-are necessary for sight.
...

Some mollusks' eyes have retina, cornea, and a lens just like ours. How
can we account for this construction in two species on such very differ-
ent evolutionary levels solely in terms of natural selection?... It is a mat-
ter for debate whether Darwinists can supply a satisfactory answer to that
question... 361
th
Ernst Mayr is one of the 20 century's leading evolutionary biolo-
gists:
It is a considerable strain on one's credulity to assume that finely balanced
systems such as certain sense organs (the eye of vertebrates, or the bird's
feather) could be improved by random mutations. 362
Evolutionists have had to admit their helplessness in the face of the

extraordinarily complex structure of the eye. But the really important fact