Well established scientific theories that eventually become displaced “do not go quietly into that good night”. Instead as Quine/Durkheim pointed out they can attempt to deploy all sorts of strategies to hang on. These include nuancing core assumptions, morphing definitions, eschewing anomalies, writing promisory notes, etc. Because of this there is rarely a knockout punch that unseats a particular theory from its throne. Instead of death by coup d’état, it is death by a thousand pricks. What eventually happens is that thinkers become disenchanted with the theory and move on to something else.

This is what is happening to Darwinian theory, a disenchanting. Every time a scientist finds Darwinian explanations lacking in their research the disenchantment grows. Every supporting argument that is found lacking in dialog disenchants. Every shortcoming of the Darwinian framework that comes to light, casts a disenchanting shadow over its future. Every public controversy that frames Darwinism in a bad light adds another prick.

The problem that Darwinism has is that there is no means to stop this disenchantment. Its soft underbelly is now being publicly exposed and enchanting it is not. There will not be a knock out argument, paper, speech, media event, or even law that displaces Darwinism. Instead each will contribute to what is going on right now, a steady, unrelenting, expanding disenchantment.