Re: Defending Intelligent Design (long)


Ash wrote:
> Thought Provoker wrote:
> > Since a good debater should be able to argue both sides,
> > I will argue the Intelligent Design side.
> >
> > "Evolution" means multiple things to multiple people.
> > So too does "Intelligent Design".
> >
> > By my definition, "Intelligent Design" does NOT mean
> > "Young Earth Creationist".
> >
> > For political reasons, some proponents of "Intelligent
> > Design" leave that in doubt. This is similar to how
> > some proponents of "Evolution" leave room that biology
> > might be a God inspired process.
> >
> > So what is the conflict? To put it in simple terms,
> > the Theory of Evolution claims the process doesn't
> > involve supernatural forces whereas Intelligent
> > Design claims it does.
> >
> The theory of evolution makes no claim about supernatural forces. We may
> infer that they are not needed as it provides an adequate explanation of
> life without them, but it does not state they cannot be involved.

I don't think we lose anything much by excluding supernatural forces
from the theory, since apparently there is no respectable evidence that
supernatural forces are involved.

As mentioned, "Intelligent design" also doesn't make claims about
supernatural involvement, unless you'd classify scientists mutating
bacteria in a laboratory as "supernatural". "Intelligent design" could
include outer space aliens, either visiting earth in flying saucers, or
shooting viruses across interstellar space in order to add interesting
features to any planetary life that they encounter. Of course the
problem of the aliens' origin would remain, but we're only considering
the history of life on earth, I think.

In fact - at least I've said this before and I'm saying it again -
"intelligent design" as fact seems to consist not of "Our bodies were
designed by someone intelligent" but of any falsification of the theory
of evolution, since any uncertainty in evolution science is seized on
as evidence of weakness in the scientists' case against intelligent
design.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: lets ignore bvallelys political postings
    ... ntelligent Design: The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher ... In a recent volume of the Vienna Series in a Theoretical Biology ... form first arose during the evolution of life. ... and classes of animals also arose at this ...
    (rec.arts.theatre.musicals)
  • Re: OT: lets ignore bvallelys political postings
    ... ntelligent Design: The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher ... In a recent volume of the Vienna Series in a Theoretical Biology ... form first arose during the evolution of life. ... and classes of animals also arose at this ...
    (rec.arts.theatre.musicals)
  • Re: Steven & Mark: Faith has an object
    ... Acceptance of material causation instead of Divine casuation refutes ... claims of evolution or the Bible. ... As explained over, and over, and over, the appearance of design is not evidence of either a designer, or "divine causation". ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Mischaracterization of ID?
    ... > mischaracterization of what constitutes Intelligent Design. ... > creationism as it is an attempt to, using scientific methodology alone, ... evolution, nor those offered against it, but are convinced that ID is based ... Johnson), or progressive separate creations, or recent ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: How New a "Science" is Intelligent Design?
    ... Micro-evolution: evolution for which the evidence is so ... be able to prove design through exclusion of all alternatives. ... And the plants do their best to evolve ... The ID movement as a whole is an obvious creationist scam. ...
    (talk.origins)