Re: Popper's recantation

DONALD FRACK (74277.3230@compuserve.com)
13 Nov 95 03:12:29 EST

Brian,

> That's fine, let me re-emphasize my points:
>
> a) at issue is the testability of natural selection, not evolution
> b) Popper changed his mind

In case you haven't noticed, what Popper actually said in either place,
accuracy in representing his views, and whether or not he was correct in
each case no longer matters. The soapboxes are out. ;-)

Your interpretation of the situation in your messages is pretty much on the
mark. Popper made clear from the beginning both that by Darwinism he meant
natural selection, and that this was not evolution in a larger sense. He
was not a biologist or historian of science, and fell victim to the
geneticists' redefinition of natural selection for their own purposes in
the 1930's. This last point is only clear to someone would recognizes the
significance of the authors he cites in defense of his error (esp.
mathematical geneticists Fisher and Haldane).

Good luck on a lost cause.

Don Frack