CHALLENGING DESIGN
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The old argument from design in Nature, as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails now that the law of natural selection has been discovered - Charles Darwin
There seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings, and in the actions of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows - Charles DArwin
Evolutionary theory is a scientific theory and could be disproved in this way. Like any scientific theory, it's made up of a posteriori arguments based on inductive reasoning, so it's only probably true.
But the Theory of Evolution has survived for 150 years without being disproved and most scientists do not agree that Behe has succeeded in producing evidence of irreducible complexity. In fact, scientists like Kenneth Miller (see video) attack the whole idea of irreducible complexity. So for the time being, evolution remains the best explanation for the appearance of design in living creatures. |
Dramatisation of the 2005 court case in America that ruled that Intelligent Design is NOT a scientific theory
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The argument for design has always been the best argument for the existence of God, and when Darwin comes along, he pulls the rug out from under that - Daniel DennetT
John Habgood makes this point by asking, why do we search for extra-terrestrial intelligence? If intelligent life on Earth evolved purely by chance, there's no reason to suppose it evolved anywhere else in the universe.
On the other hand, if intelligent life is bound to evolve, given the right conditions, then this suggests a temporal order to things. It suggests that evolution itself might be designed. |
Searching for signs of intelligent life in space
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The orderliness of the Universe makes it a beautiful Universe, but, even more importantly, it makes it a Universe which humans can learn to control and change - Richard Swinburne