Design Dissected

by David Galloway

An in-depth, yet fully accessible, look at the evidence for design in living things. This intriguing and informative blend of real clinical cases and entertaining prose is a superb resource for combatting evolutionary arguments, whilst retaining the ability to provide enjoyment to the reader. Written with both prodigious scientific skill and an original narrative voice, 'Design Dissected' will provide a hurdle to any evolutionist who reads it. This book provides a clinician's perspective on the evidence for design in living things. Specific scenarios are dissected from examples of real cases in clinical medicine and surgery, as well as descriptions of some of the amazing integrated systems that exist in human physiology. This combination of sound information and fascinating anecdote makes this not only highly commendable for those with a background in science, but for anyone who enjoys considering 'the mystery of how living things came to be'. Read about the history of science and how in the past scientific truth has been ridiculed before being widely accepted, and about the danger in assuming that science is able to answer every ultimate question. Consider the astonishing complexity of biological systems that must be an indication of genuine design and foresight. And what about the considerable measure of blind faith it takes to believe that consciousness, and higher mental properties such as memory and emotion, randomly emerged?

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2021

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author David Galloway is a surgeon who was trained in Glasgow, London, and New York City.  He conducted original research into the causes and cellular mechanisms of some common cancers and developed a specialist practice in their surgical treatment.  Galloway was also a Consultant Surgeon in Glasgow and a Former President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, as well as a Fellow of numerous international medical and surgical Colleges, holding academic appointments in Glasgow, Kuala Lumpar and Hong Kong.  I begin this book review this way simply to let the reader know that the author of this book has studied well.  He is not ignorant to the scientific studies.  Not only that, he brings the breadth and depth of his medicinal (scientific) knowledge into this writing to challenge the reader to think, and to think deeply, about long held beliefs of the naturalism that so often is embraced by the scientific world.  Galloway provides helpful history of medical and science topics.  He digs into the epistemological underpinnings of our beliefs on science.  In speaking of scientists, he writes, "We also need to be aware that scientists will frequently, and sometimes simply as a matter of course rather than as a premedicated move, overlay their reasoning with a set of philosophical assumptions or prejudice.  These can contaminate the language they may use to describe or interpret the findings or the conclusions they may wish to draw.  I supposed we might regard that as a kind of scientific spin..." (Page 75).  He then proceeds to show how spin actually works, not only in politics, but within the scientific community.  
 
The main portion of the book focuses on the human body and the various elements within our physiology that scream out design.  Some portions of physiology and anatomy argue firmly against chance, against evolution.  For Galloway, he writes about issues such as blood and coagulation, cancers, diseases such as pancreatitis, bacteria, the endocrine system, the Hypothalamo-pituitary axis, the development of the fetus and how a fetus breathes, along with the changes that take place within the respiratory system once a baby is born.   Galloway writes about DNA and the astounding facts of the coding that is written therein.  He writes extensively about the origins of life, of the brain/mind difference, and bolsters his argument for a designer behind the design by demonstrating tests and experiences that back up his claims.  

This book was such an enjoyable read.  Many terms he used were ones that I was familiar with but really had very little knowledge about.  This book would be highly recommended for any person who wants to be challenged to give thought to his/her world view, his/her view of design.  It would be extremely valuable and encouraging for those who are in the medical world or who are training to be doctors or nurses.  I highly recommend this book.  

Galloway states towards the end of the book, "However uneasy one may feel about a theistic world-view, the appearance of design is inconsistent with the denial of a designing agency.  If you wish to avoid the inevitable theistic claim, you need to be willing to accept that everything came from nothing and for no reason, that life arose spontaneously from inanimate stuff, and that the incredible fin tuning of the laws and constants of the universe just happened by some kind of sheer random chance.  More than that, you need to buy in to the following: that the code subtending life, the astonishing repository of genetic purpose-laden information, showhoe emerged randomly from a chaotic chemical background; that our rich subjective conscious experience was generated somehow from the complexity of the brain or from some kind of counter-intuitive, undefined quantum process; and that the very reason and logic you have used to think through the issues presented here is the mysterious outcome of matter and energy which betrays no sign of rationality.  There is a good descriptive word for that belief system:  Preposterous!"

I highly recommend this book.

[Geoff Boxell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read: one of the UK's top physicians looks at the evidence of design in living things using examples from his career as a Doctor of Medicine and as a surgeon to illustrate his conclusion that we, and all creation is just that - creation, not an accident.
I must admit that I have always looked at the complexity of all fauna and flora and been amazed at how it all fits together and how balanced life, in all its forms, is. Getting into molecular and atomic structures is even more compelling evidence of design to my mind.
Professor David Galloway took me even further into this world giving examples of the complex way the human body works. Even the simple act of a cut stooping bleeding and healing is not at all simple. He shews how a baby in the womb gets its oxygen via the placenta (not a straightforward process in itself) and then, on birth, everything changes, even its means of circulating its blood, blood now oxygenated via newly inflated lungs. I never knew just how critical the pituitary gland is to our bodies function and just how multifunctional it is. The way the body regulates the proteins and hormones is mind boggling, as is teh means of transportation. Human body cells have engines of more than one kind! All this before the chapters on DNA and consciousness.
His conclusion is: "The choice is evident. The puzzle is in the nature of a worldview. Answering the question of causation from a naturalistic 'bottom up' approach runs counter to observed evidence. The weight of evidence supporting real design brings the theistic view to centre stage."
At times I found the Latin and Greek medical terms hard to deal with, hence 4 * , but even then the gist of the argument was clear: we, and all around us, are a deliberate design.

[Tony Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read if you still believe in evolution! A clinical perspective of why a designer (God) is a much better explanation of where we came from than evolution.