Acknowledgements

Perhaps contrary to appearances, it has not been my intention here to be merely polemical. Indeed, I should say that I have the greatest respect for the work of Richard Dawkins - it is precisely because that is so that I have ventured to expend so much attention on it. My hope is that, by expressing my views as clearly, and even trenchantly, as possible, I will facilitate subsequent criticism (and, no doubt, correction) of these views.

This paper arises from an ongoing attack on the problem of realising the spontaneous growth of Artificial Knowledge by Darwinian (or any other!) means. In this pursuit, I have benefited greatly from discussions with colleagues, particularly Noel Murphy in DCU, and John Kelly of University College Dublin. I am indebted to the School of Electronic Engineering in DCU (particularly through the agency of its Head, Charles McCorkell) for continuing encouragement. The final version of the paper has been significantly improved by the incisive comments of the ECAL '95 reviewers, to whom I am very grateful. All errors remain, of course, my own responsibility. Financial support for this work has been generously provided by Expert Associates Limited.

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