Beyond Evolution: Unraveling the Origins of Life with Stephen Meyer and James Tour | UK

Stephen Meyer is the author of Return of the God Hypothesis and the director of the Discovery Institute. James Tour is a synthetic organic chemist and professor at Rice University, renowned for his work in nanotechnology and his skepticism toward the current scientific models explaining the origin of life.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Meyer and Tour contrast biological evolution with the more complex challenge of chemical evolution, where modern science still struggles to explain how nonliving chemicals could give rise to life. They critique early experiments like the Miller-Urey experiment, emphasizing that producing basic molecules is far from creating life itself. Meyer and Tour also argue that as scientific understanding deepens, the complexity of life's origins becomes more daunting, raising both scientific and philosophical questions about the adequacy of the current mainstream scientific explanations and theories for the origin of life.

Recorded on May 26th, 2024 in Fiesole, Italy.

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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.

© 2024 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.

[lynnetx]

Peter is one of the all time best interviewers. Loved hearing Dr Tour and Dr Meyer

[dillpickler]

Another fantastic show--thanks for having them on! Meyer (PhD Cambridge) and Tour (Rice chemistry prof, >650 research papers, >200 patents, H-index > 170) are highly intellectually credible. They deserve to be heard! So let's ignore the pro-cancellation comments from folks who want to suppress academically credible people like Meyer and Tour simply because they disagree with the majority. Let's stop the viewpoint suppression of dissenting scientific voices!

[rightsidewarrior]

In the origin of life there must be specific purposeful information which gives rise to that life. Where did the information, the epigenetic coding in the cell, originate?

[bumpkinskill]

Thank you, Peter, for bringing this VERY IMPORTANT discussion to the public. HIGHLY IMPORTANT.

[savebyj]

"James Tour is performing chemical accounting on the OOL researchers." Well said, and it explains their disdain for him revealing that they are cooking the books.

[raymondswenson]

People who cannot contemplate the scientific facts discussed here are AFRAID of scientific truth. They are suffering from Creator-phobia.

[dalehinds]

I have tons of respect for both of these men. And no one can match Peter as a host. Dr. Tour said what he hoped is that a younger generation will lay aside the prejudices of rank materialism and move in a more scientific direction. But I ask how can this happen so long as they are all immersed exclusively in the classroom with a single materialist cause for the origin of life.

[brooktrout]

A discussion like this requires a room like that!

[parochial]

One of the best, if not the best, UK episode I have yet watched. Peter Robinson is an excellent interviewer. Meyer and Tour are 2 fantastic minds and make for an excellent episode.

[mrkingcat]

A discussion challenging the concensus, popular culture and the scientific dogma. Thank you hoover institute

[intrepidus]

I love the dynamic of having Dr Meyer and Dr Tour on the same panel. They're both quite brilliant but really have a unique approach to debating the questions of origin of life. Dr Meyer is more measured while Dr Tour is more polemic. I had to pause at Dr Tour "a stinking pond" and laugh a little while I get ready for the rest of this.

[DARDA]

"The notion that not only the biopolymer but the operating program of a living cell could be arrived at by chance in a primordial organic soup here on the Earth is evidently nonsense of a high order." -- Fred Hoyle -- he likened the theory to "a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein"

[masterninja]

I love these two guys. You should invite them on your podcast at least once per month.

[timmuntu]

I have yet to hear of anyone attributing the inscriptions on the Rosetta stone (discovered by Bouchard) to random processes. To attribute those inscriptions to intelligent agency is not only a scientific observation, but any attribution of these inscriptions to random processes instead would be regarded as laughable.
The DNA code in the cell (discovered by Watson & Crick) is far more complex, and FAR more unlikely than the inscriptions on the Rosetta stone. To prefer random processes to explain the DNA code, over the other explanation, that the ONLY known source of code is intelligent agency, is not only laughable, but clearly motivated by deeper imperatives; probably dominance contestation.

[bobsmith-jiuh]

Oh boy the comment section is upset. Take it easy. People can have different ideas and share them. If you don’t think they have any validity so be it.

[MichaelMcDonald-luet]

Can get enough of this topic. Its tte least talked about most important topic. We ve been dumbed down to barely think about by the Marxist educational system

[NoiTuLovE]

One hundred and sixty five years later since "Origin of Species", and we're right back to where we started from, God said.

[knaupp]

Best part is at 44:30 where Tour explains that we still don't know what makes a call function. The top scientists can't explain what is "lost" from a cell seconds after the cell "dies" because it still has all the chemical components, yet something is lost. That something is not found in DNA or anywhere else. Its like "the force" in star wars because we don't know what it is, we just know it makes things tick.

[b-hnukesr]

This chemical engineer hit the nail on the head, the scientist in the field of origin of life keep it going for the funding. To believe in intelligent design takes out the science. But it doesn’t, it still gives man a goal to unravel how it works. We may not figure out who designed life until we die, but faith helps get past that.

[SherryApanay-oibw]

Loved this very interesting conversation between such learned men. Thank you!