[etc.]
Intelligent design
Intelligent design theorists contend that the core feature of life consists of information processing systems that cannot be fully explained as being the result of unintelligent causes alone. When
atheistand
evolutionist Richard Dawkins was young, he recognized that the complexity of life indicates a designer.
Intelligent design (ID) is the empirically testable[SUP]
[1][/SUP] theory that the natural world shows signs of having been designed by a purposeful, intelligent cause.[SUP]
[2][/SUP] As
Jonathan Wellswrote, "ID ... asserts only that some features of living things are better explained by an intelligent cause than by unguided processes." [SUP]
[3][/SUP] Wells, among others, uses ID to rebut the
Darwinian assertion that the features of living things are "inexplicable on the theory of
creation" but fully explicable as products of unguided natural forces.[SUP]
[4]
[/SUP]
The central idea of Intelligent Design theory is that
design is empirically detectable, just as the detectability of design in man-made objects is straightforward, non-controversial, and often intuitive (see:
design detection). With respect to the origin and development of cosmological and biological systems, Intelligent Design theory holds that the same principles provide a logical inference of design in nature. That is, without necessarily "proving" actual intelligent design in nature, the observable material evidence provides a reasonable basis from which to infer design, and such an inference supports a legitimate scientific hypothesis of
intelligent design. As such, Intelligent Design theory is a scientific disagreement with the core claim of materialistic theories of
evolution such as chemical and Darwinian evolution [SUP]
[5][/SUP] that the design exhibited in our universe is merely
apparentdesign, i.e.,
unintelligent design caused by unguided, purposeless, natural forces of physics and chemistry alone.[SUP]
[6]
[/SUP]
In a broader sense, Intelligent Design is simply the science of design detection -- how to recognize patterns arranged by an intelligent cause for a purpose. Design detection is used in a number of scientific fields, including anthropology, archeology, forensic sciences, cryptanalysis and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (
SETI).[SUP]
[7][/SUP] An inference that certain cosmological and biological features of the natural world may be the product of an intelligent cause can be tested or evaluated in the same manner as scientists daily test for design in other sciences.[SUP]
[8]
[/SUP]
Intelligent Design theory, like all theories of origins, is scientifically and religiously controversial. All theories of origins are scientifically controversial because they often amount to subjective historical narratives that seek to explain unobserved and unobservable singular past events that occurred many years ago and that cannot be adequately tested in the laboratory. They are religiously controversial because all religions, including non-theistic religions, depend on a particular origins narrative. Intelligent Design proponents believe institutions of science, including government agencies, public schools and universities, should strive for objectivity and academic freedom in facilitating origins teaching and research. Objectivity in the evaluation and interpretation of material evidence ensures that all evidence-based explanations for natural phenomena can be considered fairly on their respective merits, regardless of their ultimate metaphysical or religious implications. Institutions of science should promote objectivity and academic freedom, especially where minority viewpoints challenge scientific orthodoxy.
Evidence for Intelligent Design in Nature
See also: Irreducible complexity
Virtually all scientists, including evolutionists,[SUP]
[27][/SUP] observe design in nature. Fossils exhibit design. Living body plans exhibit design. Micro-biological features such as DNA exhibit design. The evidentiary question is not a question of the
existence of design in nature, but the
cause of design in nature.
Only two causes are available to explain the design evident in nature:
unintelligent causes and
intelligent causes.
Unintelligent causes include the natural actions of physics and chemistry, operating alone by natural laws in space and time. Unintelligent causes cannot produce true design, so Darwinists dismiss the evident design in nature as merely the "appearance" of design.
Intelligent design proponent
Phillip E. Johnson illustrates the obstinancy of evolutionary scientists to recognize intelligent causation of design in nature when he wrote the following:
[TABLE="class: cquote"]
[TR]
[TD]“[/TD]
[TD]"One of the world's most famous scientists, probably the most famous living biologist, is Sir
Francis Crick, the British co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, a Nobel Prize winner...In his autobiography, Crick says very candidly biologists must remind themselves daily that what they study was not created, it evolved; it was not designed, it evolved. Why do they have to remind themselves of that? Because otherwise, the facts which are staring them in the face and trying to get their attention might break through. What we discovered when I developed a working group of scientists, philosophers, et al., in the United States was that living organisms look as if they were designed and they look that way because that is exactly what they are."[SUP]
[28][/SUP][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]”[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Intelligent causes include the actions of an intelligent agent (which may be unknown, such as in anonymous works of art, or in archeological finds) manipulating physics and chemistry to create something that physics and chemistry alone cannot. Only intelligent causes can produce true design.
The question is not, therefore, "is there evidence of design in nature?" Rather, the scientific question is, "Based on the evidence of design observed in nature, what causes best explain design?" Framed this way, potential explanations, or theories, are not limited by a predetermined bias, such as only unintelligent causes (e.g., Darwinism) or only intelligent causes (e.g., creationism). The question simply asks, "in accordance with the scientific method, what causes can be logically inferred from the evidence?"
With the proper question in mind, it is easy to see that virtually all the evidence used to support Darwinism is equally evidence in support of Intelligent Design.
Cosmological evidence for design is described at
Evidence for intelligent design in cosmology section.
Biological evidence for intelligent design includes
general evidence and
special evidence, and both are discussed at
General and Special Evidence for Intelligent Design in Biology. For all material evidence, the evidentiary value can be determined by use of the
Evidence Filter.
Examples of Intelligent Design Theory Used in Science
Forensic scientists use design detection when they consider observable evidence of an historic unrepeatable event such as a crime.
Intelligent design detection is uncontroversial in many well-accepted scientific disciplines. In each of the scientific disciplines listed below, scientists evaluate the evidence objectively, that is, there is no pre-determined rule of interpretation that dictates that only
unintelligent causes can be considered.
Forensic sciences:
Forensic scientists use design detection when they consider observable evidence of an historic unrepeatable event such as a crime. For example, a forensic investigator investigating a death uses scientific evidence to determine whether the death was caused by unintelligent causes (i.e., by accident), or by intelligent causes (i.e., murder).
Archeology: Archaeologists are virtually dependent upon the science of design detection. Working with present-day evidence left from the past, archaeologists seek to determine whether artifacts were caused by unintelligent causes (i.e., clay) or intelligent causes (i.e., a clay pot).
Cryptanalysis: Cryptanalysis is the scientific endeavor of code breaking. Code breakers examine the observable evidence of a string or pattern of characters to determine if it contains a message or if it is simply a string of random, meaningless characters.
Arson investigation: Arson investigators observe evidence and attempt to explain the cause of a fire; was it caused by unintelligent causes (i.e., accidental ignition), or by intelligent causes (i.e., arson).
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: The name says it all. These scientists are observing evidence in the form of radio signals to determine if the signals are the result of unintelligent causes (i.e., background radiation in space), or by intelligent causes (i.e., extraterrestrial intelligence).
Each of the above scientific disciplines utilize design detection to determine if the cause of observed evidence is due to unintelligent or intelligent agency. Usually, such as in the case of archaeologists observing clay pots, the detection and determination of design is intuitive and assumed without further justification. No rigorous analytical method is required of archaeologists to support a finding of design; nothing beyond the simple, rational recognition of what is consistent with the human experience of intelligent design is necessary.
Intelligent design - Conservapedia