The Blind Watchmaker

Who is Hugh Montefiore from The Blind Watchmaker and what is their importance?

Asked by
Last updated by Cat
1 Answers
Log in to answer

Hugh Montefiore is the Anglican Bishop of Birmingham and is an unequivocal believer in the existence of the Christian God. He believes in evolution but not in natural selection as a mechanism for achieving the results in nature. His arguments, which Dawkins labels "the Argument from Personal Incredulity", include his disbelief that natural selection could explain the complexities of animal behavior. Unfortunately, the Bishop uses the white coloration of the fur of the polar bear to question natural selection because, if, in his words, the polar bear is dominant in the Arctic, why should it need to camouflage its presence. This ignores the obvious fact that the polar bear might want to conceal its presence from its prey.