Argument From Poor Design - Responses To Criticism

Responses To Criticism

Proponents have responded to many arguments against the argument from poor design. In the case of the panda's thumb, the argument is not that it works. The argument is that the design is poor, as a real digit would be functionally more effective than modified wrist bones.

In addition, the plantaris muscle does atrophy. Its motor function is so minimal that its long tendon can readily be harvested for reconstruction elsewhere with little functional deficit. "Often mistaken for a nerve by freshman medical students, the muscle was useful to other primates for grasping with their feet. It has disappeared altogether in 9 percent of the population."

In response to the claim that uses have been found for "junk" DNA, proponents note that the fact that some non-coding DNA has a purpose does not establish that all non-coding DNA has a purpose, and that the human genome does include pseudogenes that are clearly nonfunctional "junk". The original study that suggested that the Makorin1-p1 served some purpose has been shown to be entirely wrong. They also note that some sections of DNA can be randomized, cut, or added to with no apparent effect on the organism in question.

With regard to the last argument, proponents note that nobody has studied the effects of increased efficiency in plants in such a way to make this determination possible. Some plants have more and less efficient photosynthesis reactions, such as the C3, C4, and CAM photosynthesis reactions. No such "damaging chemical reactions" occur in the more effective processes.

The original argument rests on the concept of oxidative stress and ROS – the LHC and other components of the photosynthetic array can absorb only a certain amount of energy from sunlight. Absorbing more results in oxidative damage – a well-documented phenomenon in plants. However, this argument does nothing to invalidate the argument from poor design, as it merely shifts the focus of the question to why those specific components of the photosynthetic apparatus were designed to be unable to cope with commonly-encountered levels of solar energy. Natural selection as an explanation fares much better because it posits that photosynthesis originally evolved in an aquatic environment, then later adapted (but imperfectly) to the higher solar energy found in terrestrial environments.