Quantum Evolution: The New Science of the Life Force

McFadden's writing is clear and sharp, and it shows a high regard for the reader's intelligence and patience for complex ideas. This is no airplane book--except for those already well-versed in the latest in both evolutionary theory and subatomic physics. The rewards of reading are great, and the author bows just enough to established theory that he might meet the fate of his intellectual predecessors. The ideas underlying Quantum Evolution may be right or wrong, but they challenge received wisdom without plunging into dogmatism--and that's good science. --Rob Lightner

Product Description
How did life start? How did something capable of replicating itself emerge from the primordial soup? How did it defy the odds? And how did it carry on seeking out the very mutations that enable survival? Living organisms are controlled by a single molecule - DNA. Yet the study of physics tells us that the behaviour of single molecules is also controlled by the laws of quantum mechanics. The implications of this for biology result in Johnjoe McFadden's theory of quantum evolution. He shows how living organisms have the ability to will themselves into action. Indeed, such an ability may be life's most fundamental attribute. This has radical implications. Evolution may not be random at all, as recent evolutionary theories have taught: rather, cells may, in certain circumstances, be able to choose to mutate particular genes that provide an advantage in the environment in which the cell finds itself.

Johnjoe McFadden's "Quantum Evolution" is, thus far, the best of the lot that I have discovered. It is engaging, extremely readable, consistently scientific and broadly important in its explorations.

If you are mostly interested in the healing or paranormal or so-called "new age" linkages to quantum phenomena, look elsewhere. The strength of this book is that it maintains a stance on the scientific side of the matter even as the science steps into the looking glass of quantum reality.

Many in the sciences don't seem to know what to do with the quantum world. The physicists seem to wobble in their ability to create rich models at any level above that of the quantum phenomena themselves - perhaps because theirs can be a sparse world... the vast emptiness beyond the quark. They are often only comfortable "wrapping" the ultimately incomprehensible realities of the quantum world in merely mathematical or semantic models.

McFadden, on the other hand, comes to this effort as a life scientist. As a molecular biologist he has moved from internationally recognized work on Tuberculosis to explorations at the bacterial level to studies of the molecular activities of the cell. Now, he has moved to the realization that the strange, spooky realm of quantum particle-waves, of wave-function collapse and multiple-world models is a logical next step. Singularly important life processes do not function merely at the molecular level of the chemists. Their core elements are actions and movements of individual particles, of single protons and electrons, and hence only understandable through quantum models - however strange the reality they demand.

This book is clearly intended for the thoughtful layperson. It succeeds admirably in its task of educating the reader in a broad base of realms of scientific knowledge. Chapters are divided into smaller 1-3 page "chunks" that isolate pieces of larger concepts in such a way as to allow you to skip or skim a section if you consider yourself comfortable with the science at hand. This approach will also help you build a really solid working knowledge of, for instance, the molecular biology of life, of cellular respiration, by digesting pieces at a time. If you take your time you can learn a lot and step into the strange quantum science with a much more confident grip on the scientific substrate of the argument.

By taking on evolution, which most scientists consider central to understanding life, McFadden manages to build a broader, but always scientific, exploration, that takes quantum realities as its launch point. Early in the book the author demonstrates his wonder at the role of life, itself, in the universe, and states his abiding respect for the role of natural selection and evolution in the development of life. He nevertheless candidly and even-handedly explores some of the more recent scientific critiques of the central Darwinian model - of so-called "punctuated evolution" for example.

Once he has established a strong, scientific tone for the discussion he opens the door to one typically less-scientific alternative to evolution by natural selection. This is the notion of directed adaptation. Species might not only change, over time, through the interaction of random mutation and changing environment - the Darwinian model. Instead, individual organisms might, somehow, adapt and change as individuals and pass on those changes to succeeding generations. This "Lamarckian" paradigm had been considered discredited by steady accumulation of scientific data. But the kinks in the data have also accumulated and range from the broadly geological (gaps and leaps in the fossil record) to the minutely molecular (multi-sequence molecular processes of life which cannot be decomposed into selectable smaller sequences).

Having educated you in a broad range of life science, guided you through the mirrored funhouse of quantum reality, and finally built scientific bridges to the bio-molecular from the quantum, here is where McFadden has led you: to answer the questions at the core of evolutionary theory, itself at the core of life. How he manages that final piece is fascinating, sometimes unsettling, and yours to discover. There is no way that quantum explanations of anything can be wholly grasped, no way to entirely resist the urge to simply reject them as meaningful underpinnings of reality. Nevertheless, I think McFadden accomplishes this latter synthesis extremely well, suggesting answers to a fascinating range of questions along the way.


The Interface of the Quantum and Classical Worlds   June 17, 2005
From the Oregon Country
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This very well-written and entertaining account, by a microbiologist from Great Britain, deals with the phenomenon of evolution, and of consciousness, and postulates that they are both ultimately quantum phenomena. At the border areas, so to speak, of the world of hard classical reality, the "real" world experienced in everyday life, and that of the indeterminate multiverse of the quantum world, in the interchange of information between these two levels of reality, is to be found the driving force behind evolution, and of mind. But this is not a metaphysical treatise: the author is a hard-nosed scientist, and the theory did not originate with him. Other accredited members of the scientific community have arrived at similar conclusions concerning the role of the subatomic world in the macroscopic universe. This spell-binding work goes into great detail revealing how the manipulation of particles in the quantum world could, indeed, propel evolution forward, and could explain the mysteries of mind, consciousness, and free-will. Highly recommended!


Macro meets micro: evolution and Schrodinger's cat   March 12, 2001
John C. Landon (New York City)
22 out of 26 found this review helpful

Although I would not feel ready to fully accept the argument in this book, the appearance in the second half of the book of the issues of quantum mechanics was very astonishing indeed, raising issues whose time has come. One has the sudden feeling, "now maybe we are getting somewhere", as we examine new previously unknown pieces of the puzzle, those of the quantum realm having so far been left out of the running. Something is lacking in current thinking as mechanical processes are pressed into service where they inevitably fail to explain. Even the idea of 'self-organization',as the author points out, seems inadequate to the complexity of what is really happening. That leaves the unexplored and highly complex interaction of biochemistry with the realm of the atom as a possible source of new unexplained and unknown mechanisms. It was quite strange to be in the middle of a discussion of life genesis confronted by the perplexities of the Copenhagen interpretation and the maddening subtleties of Schrodinger's cat, now with the perspective of decoherence brought to bear on the issues of finding the 'quantum measurement' equivalent in the processes of life evolution. Although there is a way to go here, the new approach seems most promising indeed.There is also a discussion of this in relation to Cairns 'adaptive mutations', with its Lamarckian overtones. The books ends somewhat more speculatively applying all this to issues of consciousness. We are entering terra incognita. And it is useful, if nothing else, to relieve one thinking with this fresh perspectives of all the prior baloney and mantra chanting that is draped in front of the unsolved problems of evolution. Fascinating.


A Provocative Read   June 11, 2001
J. Michael Gallipo (Portsmouth, NH USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

As a fan of the concept of Consilience (the blending of multiple academic disciplines), I loved Mr. McFadden's "Quantum Evolution." As a liberal arts graduate myself, I won't pretend to be able to evaluate all of Mr. McFadden's work; however I did find this book very accessible despite the technical nature of its subject matetr. There was something very appealing about his combining of Biology with the microscale of Quantum Mechanics. Too often when reading books about evolution and biology, it is easy to forget that it is actions at the molecular level that make everything work. And just as biologists have come to reject classical ideas about the special properties of life, it seems hard to believe that the laws of quantum mechanics cease working just because you are talking about living organisms. Are all of the ideas contained in Mr. McFadden's book correct? Unlikely. However, Mr. McFadden has succeeded in writing a provocative book that should merit considerable attention from both scholars and lay readers alike.


A Compelling and Insightful Read   November 8, 2006
Tracy Roberts (Nova Scotia, Canada)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

The book Quantum Evolution, How Physics' Weirdest Theory Explains Life's Biggest Mystery, considers Quantum Evolution as an important factor influencing biological evolution and the human consciousness. A professor of molecular genetics, author Johnjoe McFadden provides a comprehensive account of the origins of life to the evolution of human consciousness. McFadden details how evolution, with an emphasis on Darwinian evolution, could not have occurred without the influence of quantum mechanics instigating specific molecular and cellular actions. He dismisses naturalism as the single cause of evolution and through a meticulous, well-researched account, details how cells contain order.

Dr. McFadden explains that Neo-Darwinism only illustrates evolution of species; it does not explain the origin of the first self-replicating subatomic particle. Neo-Darwinism only tackles evolution from life originating at the first single-cell, not the origin of the first rudimentary form of life. Using Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle as a source, McFadden articulates that a living cell measures its own internal state. According to McFadden, life is a cellular system engaging in internal quantum measurement for the purpose of replication.

With comical anecdotes, interesting insights into historical scientific scholars, as well as current scientists, Dr. McFadden explains the origins of life, its limitations, and how life has evolved to what we see around us. With easy to understand illustrations, and often taking complicated concepts and applying them to every day situations, the book details how particle manipulation in the quantum world could have boosted evolution, and explain the complexities of the mind, consciousness, and free will.

As discussed in the book, the mind and consciousness is a very complicated subject. It would be interesting to see how quantum evolution affects our way of thinking. For example, how does quantum evolution fit in with innate behavior, learned behavior, how we distinguish between right and wrong, moral and immoral? That is, how does quantum evolution tie in with the study of psychology?

As the author points out, the theory did not originate with him. He acknowledges and explains how others within the scientific field arrived at similar conclusions concerning the function of the subatomic world and its role shaping the universe we see today. Although a few concepts and ideas put forth may be complicated to those with little or no scientific background, the writing and science is clear and logical with many compelling points discussed.

I highly recommend this book to high school students and college students with a passion for the sciences and a desire to understand how we got here and the role Quantum Evolution played.

Tracy Roberts, Write Field Services Reviewer