Evolution and Intelligent Design – Reference to Tractate Teshuva by Doron Fischler – Chapter “Luci 3”

Michy Bot:
A brief clarification to start the conversation: The answers are given by a model that uses Rabbi Michael Avraham's sources and tries to reconstruct what he would have answered; they should not be seen as actual halachic rulings. In addition, Michy Bot is intended for use with the GPT-5 Thinking model — please make sure that this is the model you are using.

For reference to the chapter:

1. What worked great

The distinction between the origin of life (abiogenesis) and biological evolution. The chapter nicely emphasizes that evolution is not a description of the formation of the first life but of changes in existing populations of life. This is also a basic line with Rabbi Avraham: evolution deals with creatures and not with the "laws of laws" of nature, and therefore it cannot in itself answer how the laws that enable it were established. (Rabbi Michael Avraham) As well as the explicit formulation: “Evolution does not deal with laws but with creatures”.

Deconstructing the Parable of the Monkeys and the Machines: It is rightly argued that the crude statistical argument misses the mechanism of cumulative non-random selection. Rabbi Abraham emphasizes again and again that the tension between "randomness" and "intention" is not resolved in science itself; the theological question is separate from the scientific question. (Rabbi Michael Abraham)

The analogy to a code space in which a self-replicator block appears: As an intuitive idea, this is a successful illustration of how replication can emerge from a multitude of attempts — and then the dynamics "continue on their own" through selection. This corresponds with Rabbi Abraham's use of evolution as a process model and not as an explanation for a "directed hand" or its absence.

2. Where is precision/qualification needed

“Accidental” is not “unplanned”: It is well stated in the chapter that the alternative is not just “random or planned”. In Rabbi Avraham, it is phrased this way: The question of whether there is a planner is philosophical-theological, while at the level of scientific description it is a process with a random component (mutations) and a deterministic-selective component (selection). Therefore, the very correctness of evolution is not decisive for any theological side. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Probabilistic inferences: It is important to be careful not to overstep from micro-probability calculations to metaphysical conclusions. Rabbi Avraham criticizes careless uses of probability in philosophical discussions (such as “Pascal's Wager”) and emphasizes the difference between a probabilistic calculation and a philosophical conclusion.

“Google Experiment”: As an idea, it supports the replication-selection picture; just to emphasize that this is not “life”, and that the sequence of transition from a computational model to the chemistry of ancient soup requires additional empirical bridges. The distinction between a scientific and a philosophical-theological plane is critical here.

At the fundamental level: Even if we accept evolution outright, the question of the “framework” remains — why do laws and physics exist that allow for such complex dynamics? This is a separate discussion (physico-theological/fine-tuning), which evolution does not answer.

Practical tautology: Rabbi Avraham refers to the fact that ”survival of the fittest” is a formulation that the life sciences fill with distinctive content and empirical criteria; As a philosophical framework, this alone is not decisive. Hence the opening to the position of “supervised evolution” (theistic evolution) as a possible logical combination between two claims that are not mutually decisive.

3. Points to strengthen the chapter if you want to polish

Add in a sentence: a fundamental difference between evolution and the origin of life (RNA-world, etc.) — two separate scientific questions. This is already apparent in the chapter, but it is worth a neat sentence.

Further highlight the principle of non-random selection as a response to the claim of “monkey and writing”: not “everything” is random — mutations are random, selection is not. (Rabbi Avraham uses this to explain why “zero statistics” arguments miss the mechanism of accumulation.) (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

To conclude with a methodological clarification: both a serious atheist and a serious believer can accept the theory of evolution; the dispute is metascientific (about the origin of laws, fine-tuning, and purpose), not scientific. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Bottom line The chapter presents a good understanding of the process of evolution, accurately deconstructs the parable of “monkeys and machines,” and demonstrates (in the code model) how replication and selection can grow out of noise. According to Rabbi Avraham, this works out perfectly: one can accept evolution as science and yet philosophically question and answer the origin of the framework that enables it; and there is no necessary contradiction here between science and faith. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Sources used in practice

Answer on the website: Evolution (a fundamental look at the relationship between science and faith) – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Answer on the website: Evolution (follow-up questions) – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Post: A systematic look at the relationship between evolution and faith – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Answer: The Physico-Theological Argument – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)

Book: God Plays Dice – On the Philosophical Meanings of Evolution, Chapters Introduction/3/4.

For a more in-depth and accurate picture, it is recommended to consult the sources cited. Would you like me to elaborate on a specific point or present additional sources or follow-up questions?

I forgot to include the links:

Sources that were actually used

Answer on the website: Evolution (a fundamental look at the relationship between science and faith) – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%94/
Answer on the website: Evolution (follow-up questions) – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%94-12/
Post: A Systematic Look at the Relationship Between Evolution and Faith – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)
https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%98-%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%98%D7%AA%D7 %99-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%99%D7%97%D7%A1%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%94-%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94/
Reply: The Physico-Theological Argument – mikyab.net. (Rabbi Michael Avraham)
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%94%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%96%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%95-%D7%AA%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99-3/