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Article: Skyhooks
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Science and Religion
- Author:
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Skyhooks
The metaphor of skyhooks, typically used pejoratively, is a label for explanations that appeal to powers transcending nature, a supernatural beyond the secular order. The idea is similar to
deus ex machina
interventions in ancient Greek plays, where a god was brought in from above by stage machinery to resolve a complicated plot, often unconvincingly. In his 1995 book,
Darwin's Dangerous Idea,
Daniel C. Dennett argues that Darwin replaced "skyhooks" with "cranes," mechanistic forces building up over evolutionary history, not mind-like designing, which is only a resulting appearance. However, with genetics, a cybernetic model of ...