[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Religion See other Religion Articles Title: Intelligent Design Part 3 - a little thought experiment Second, allow me to restate that I DON'T believe in Intelligent Design. I'm just fascinated with what the topic does to otherwise rational people on both sides of the question. [...snip...] I understand the argument for excluding Intelligent Design from science classes. Most scientists believe it doesn't meet the definition of science. You can't argue with the people who MAKE the definitions. If the vast majority say it doesn't have enough substance to qualify as science, that's okay with me. But I have to wonder if that's the real reason most scientists oppose including it in schools. I would expect scientists to welcome such a clear model of something that is NOT science, as an example of exactly that. "Kids, astronomy is science and astrology isn't. Here are some more examples of things that aren't science..." Sure, it might confuse the dumb kids, but they aren't the ones building the spaceships of tomorrow anyway. I learned about not using "ain't" in English class and that didn't hurt me too much. So it just seems fishy to me that scientists are so worked up about Intelligent Design. Could their true fear be the slippery slope argument? If you let ID in the door, before long we'll all be wearing scraggly beards and beating ourselves with prayer paddles. I propose a little thought experiment. Imagine that lightning suddenly carves into the side of the Washington Monument the words "I am God. I created you. Darwin was a nut." And let's say there are hundreds of witnesses who all have video cameras and capture it from multiple angles. Now imagine that the same phenomenon repeats every day for a month, each time on a different monument. Scientists study the phenomena and conclude that humans probably didn't cause it, but beyond that, there are no further scientific clues about how lighting could seem so directed. If I crafted my thought experiment right, no one would have any idea how to devise a test that would confirm or exclude the possibility that God really did it. Hypothetically, being omnipotent and all, he would be capable of leaving no clues, other than signing his name. Therefore, any speculation as to the cause is not science. Here's the question: Should teachers be allowed to tell science students about the lightning messages? You may commence misinterpreting what I just wrote and attacking that misinterpretation now. Go.
Poster Comment: I'll reiterate Scott's point: regardless of the truth or falsity of Intelligent Design, the debate around it and the reasons given for excluding it's discussion in schools are not credible. Further, given that "Intelligent Design" largely encompasses negative arguments disproving aspects of "Darwinian Evolutionary Theory" (for lack of a better term) which theory has never been proven and itself lacks proof of its essential affirmative arguments, then arguably neither paradigm constitutes "science" as scientists normally define the term. And therein lies the silliness of some of the debate. ID to-date remains an exericise in proving a negative, while DET has been essentially disproven for lack of evidence. Yet the debate over whether either constitutes "science" rages on in absurdity. For the record, lest anyone be confused, I do not believe the universe and life evolved by chance. There is an intelligent Designer - a Creator God. But while I believe that, classical "science" has yet to prove or disprove God's causitive intervention in creation, and hence ID is not "science". But then not being "science" doesn't disprove it either. You are now returned to the thought experiment: Should teachers be allowed to tell science students about the lightning messages?
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
#2. To: Starwind (#0)
Yes, all information should be *allowed*.
There are no replies to Comment # 2. End Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||