According to Denis Noble, one of the greatest illusions of the Modern Synthesis is embodied in the Central Dogma, a principle first formulated by Francis Crick in 1958. The principle (roughly) holds that DNA makes protein, not the other way around. For Noble, the Dogma has contributed to the illusion that genes alone are responsible for the development and evolution of an organism’s phenotype. Though I am largely sympathetic to Noble’s critique, I argue that there may be alternative grounds for accepting the plausibility of the Central Dogma and also the illusion it perpetuates.

中文翻译：

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现代综合的最大幻觉是否可行？

根据丹尼斯·诺布尔（Denis Noble）的说法，现代综合论的最大幻觉之一体现在中央教条中，这是弗朗西斯·克里克（Francis Crick）于1958年首先提出的原理。对于Noble而言，教条促使人们产生这样的错觉：仅基因负责生物体表型的发育和进化。尽管我对Noble的批评大体上表示同情，但我认为可能还有其他理由可以接受中央教条的合理性以及它永远存在的幻想。