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Nick Thompson on Design

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Abstract

Most biologists are struck by the many close fits between organisms’ characteristics and the environments which they inhabit. The adaptations look as they have been designed, but their origins are explained in terms of Charles Darwin’s natural selection. Nick Thompson, to whom this essay is dedicated, frequently wrote about design and insisted that the concept should not treated in the same way as the notion of current utility, the idea that an organism’s trait increases its chances of survival and reproductive success. He was right, but sadly the whole idea of design has been appropriated by the creationists seeking scientific respectability for their extremist nonsense. As a result biologists are now shy about using the term.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sub-Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, UK

    Patrick Bateson

  2. The Old Rectory, Rectory Street, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8BL, UK

    Patrick Bateson

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  1. Patrick Bateson
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Correspondence to Patrick Bateson.

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This essay is a tribute to my old friend, Nick Thompson. He constantly disparages himself, not realizing how much we all love and admire him. He is also brilliantly critical of others, sometimes driving his friends to exasperation, but also making himself a delicious target for teasing. Above all, though, he is deeply original, one of a kind and much treasured.

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Bateson, P. Nick Thompson on Design. Integr. psych. behav. 44, 351–359 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-010-9127-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-010-9127-6

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