...Peterson Intelligent Design October 27, 2013 Take a moment to think about the world around you and all of its beauty. From the ever flowing Mississippi River, to the ledges of the mighty Grand Canyon, or even to the peak of Mt. Fuji there is an immense amount of things on this Earth that are so incredible it is hard to believe science and chance created these magnificent things. So what is the best explanation for these occurrences? I believe that these occurrences scream of an intelligent designer which also leads us to the existence of God. First I must explain what an argument for design is and then we will look at Paley’s Watchmaker Theory to give us better insight on this argument. Then I will point to Betty and Cordell’s argument that the things of our universe lead us to a belief in God (intelligent designer) and that the Big Bang theory is not the best explanation alone for the existence of God, and that a multiverse is not the best explanation for the existences in our universe. Design arguments most often try to explain the existence of God by pointing to various occurrences and objects within our world and universe that lead us to believe that there is an intelligent designer. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, design arguments usually consist of three premises. One is a premise that asserts that the material universe exhibits some verifiable property (F); Two is a premise that asserts that (F) is persuasive evidence of intelligent design or purpose;...
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...1 Religion in Schools – Intelligent Design vs. Theory Stephanie C. Hansen Western International University April, 2006 Intelligent Design should be taught in schools, not only viewed as a religious theory. The debate continues on what roles the school should take on controversies regarding Theory of Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Opponents insist that this is a “veiled way” of getting religion into the classroom, and that it should not be allowed. One of the main reasons to have Freedom of Speech is so “Truth” can emerge from vigorous debate on all sides of every important issue. Why then should we Americans ever want to suppress the free discussion of important issues in our public schools? (William McGinnis, 2006) Opponents would insist that Intelligent Design has no part in science. On the contrary, the more Intelligent Design is argued, the more scientific it proves to be. In the book Darwin’s Black Box (Behe) the author contends that “Darwin’s response is no longer adequate because of scientific advances that have occurred since Darwin’s death”. Thus, the Theory of Evolution deserves to be revisited. It wasn’t until after his (Darwin’s) death those life forms could be inspected on a molecular level. Therefore, it would also be “scientific” to re-evaluate the Intelligent Design concept on a scientific level since it has been determined “scientifically” that “even in their most basic forms, various organisms are so complex that they...
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...Intelligent Design This article is about intelligent design and whether or not it is a scientific theory, or a religious belief. Intelligent design is the theory that life, or the universe, cannot have arisen by chance and that it was created by some intelligent entity. In my philosophy class that I took a couple of semesters ago, we talked a lot about this. I am a firm believer that nothing in this world was created alone, and that cause has a cause and so on. “Intelligent design is overwhelmingly deemed by the scientific community as a religious belief and not a scientific theory,” President Jo Ann Gora said. “Therefore, intelligent design is not appropriate content for science courses (2013, pg.1). Teaching and discussing religion is an issue for many schools all over the world. I know where I went to school we were not allowed to talk about God or anything of that nature because it might offend people. In the second grade, we had a Christmas play, and one boy was not allowed to participate in the play because of his religion. This quote is an example of how intelligent design in the class room is not appropriate to discuss because science is a completely different subject than religion. Science is based on real facts, and for some religion is just an opinion. A lot of scientists are saying that intelligent design and creation science do not qualify as science. Religion today is still a very important part of many people’s lives. Many of these people are sitting in classrooms...
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...Title: Evolution and Intelligent Design: Which Is True? Introduction: * Controversial subject * Full into beliefs * Very political * Connection between Intelligent Design & Creationism I. Background A. Evolution is the scientific theory that all life forms on Earth today are descended from a single cell organism 1. Charles Darwin & Natural Selection 2. Genes carry the DNA codes for a evolutionary trait to be passed to the next generation B. Creationists feel the need to attack the evolution theory to “free God from its shackles” 1. Evolution provides a meaningful explanation of the relationship of the Creator to man & animals 2. We are formed, by the Creator, from the dust of the Earth C. Evolution is metaphysics 1. Something transforms into other things, but the process is unexplained 2. Breathing air, wings & fins are excellent examples II. First Side- Evolution A. Does not prove there is no God 1. May not be able to prove there is a higher power, can prove that a fish grew leg & walked on land 2. Provides the basis for the Creator’s work, macro to micro B. Historical trials & their outcomes 1. Wesley Roberts-“A Struggle in Tennessee” 2. John Scopes- trial of religion & science III. Second Side- Intelligent Design A. The theory by Mr. Charles Darwin 1. No sufficient evidence to prove that one organism evolves into another 2. Evolution & Alchemy go hand-in-hand;...
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...3 RUNNING HEAD: INTELLIGENT DESIGN Intelligent Design Paper James L. Jones CRJ 311 Forensics Mrs. Rebecca Nieman Nov 17, 2012 Good evening everyone. My name is Mr. James Jones the superintendent of the El Paso County school district and the topic that I will be discussing in today’s speech is the concern of thought of being intelligent design into the school system. The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the idea of intelligent design, which asserts that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not a possibly undirected process such as natural selection. Its chief activities are a campaign to promote public awareness of this concept, the lobbying of policymakers to include its teaching in high school science classes, and legal action, either to defend such teaching or to remove barriers otherwise preventing it. The movement arose out of the previous Christian fundamentalist and evangelistic creation science movement in the United States, and is driven by a small group of proponents. The overall goal of the intelligent design movement is to overthrow materialism and atheism. Its proponents believe that society has suffered devastating cultural consequences from adopting materialism and that science is the cause of the decay into materialism because it seeks only natural explanations, and is therefore atheistic...
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...that would mean that I cannot use the body theory. They also share the same memories as I do so that would eliminate the memory theory. The illusion theory claims that there is no self that persists through time and we are constantly changing every moment, so I could not use that theory. The only one remaining that I could attempt to use is the Soul theory (Ultimate Questions, p 109). I would have to show the judge or the jury that while physically we are identical the imposter does not have the soul that I have. 2. Biologically yes we are identical to the fetus, but I don’t think that it would be accurate to suggest that we are the same because of the immense psychological, emotional and physical growth and development that we go through as we mature. The body theory would say that since we are numerically the same as when we were babies that we are the same regardless of our qualitative identity. The illusion would vehemently deny that we are the same as the fetus because we are constantly changing. The memory theory would say that we are different because a fetus does not have memories. It is hard to know what the Soul Theory would say because I do not know exactly when the soul enters into our bodies, but if it enters at conception then they would suggest that we are identical to the fetus and if it enters at birth then we are not the same. Out of all of the theories of personal identity I would say that I agree with the body theory the most, I don’t agree with any of them...
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...Evolution and Intelligent Design The subject of how life started on this planet we called “Earth” is a very controversial subject. The whole topic is a battle of the beliefs of its inhabitants. It is seen in politics, as well as in schools, the workplace, and other areas that people are interacting. Intelligent Design is occasionally referred to as Creationism. However, the proper title is Intelligent Design. Creationism is more along the lines of a religious assembly. Yet the supporters of both affiliations are called Creationists. Evolution, by definition, is the scientific theory that all life forms on Earth today are descended from a single cell organism (Source B). Intelligent Design is the belief that a higher power fashioned all the forms life as they are now. Charles Darwin created the idea of Natural Selection (Source B). Within it, a specific species can adapt to a change and pass that gene onto its offspring. The genes carry the DNA codes for the evolutionary trait to be passed on (FAQ). Creationists feel the need to harass the evolution theory to “Free God from its shackles” (Leone). Evolution provides significant justification of the relationship linking the life on Earth and the Creator (Leone). As quoted from Leone, “We are formed, by the Creator, from the dust of the Earth.” Evolution is metaphysics; a branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science (Gerdes). Some subjects transform into other...
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...Skills Intelligent Design vs. Evolution Today science does not understand how life originated. The better science understands the nature of the problems associated with the origin of life the more mysterious life’s origin becomes. In the midst of arguments over evolution and intelligent design, it is amazing how many in society including the very educated, believe that scientists had already created life in the laboratory. No such thing has ever happened. All that scientists have done is genetically engineer already existing forms of life in the laboratory, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life, but they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matter. In my opinion, even if scientists ever do produce life from non-living matter it will only be through intelligent design or planning so it still wouldn't help support any theory of life originating by evolution. Again, science cannot prove that we are here by either chance or design, but the scientific evidence can be used to support one or the other. But how will we know if expensive lawyers are being paid to make sure the experiment is never conducted? With that in mind, it is only fair that evidence supporting intelligent design be presented to students alongside of evolutionary theory. No one is being forced to believe in God so there's no real violation of separation of church and state. Why not enliven this with a student debate on contrasting theories? Why...
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... 5 May 3, 2015 McCloskey Response Paper “On Being an Atheist” Does God Exist? That is the question we face! For many years Theists and Atheist have debated this question for many years along with their central views and beliefs that we as human being rely on as it relates to Life and God. The Point of views and debates center around the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological argument (argument from Design) and the most debated argument as it relates to this topic called the Problem with evil? When questioning wither or not God Exist these traditional arguments play significant roles in investigating and proving or discrediting someone’s view or stance on this specific Philosophical belief. As you read McCloskey article “On Being an Atheist” he argues the Theist stance who believe in the Existence of God from the perspective view of an Atheist. McCloskey in writing this Article is not trying to discredit their belief in the Existence of God, but to raise questions, doubts and uncertainties concerning their arguments on which they stand on to prove their belief by ultimately concluding that the Theist arguments are not valid and should be disregarded as evidence to prove their belief in the existence of God. The problem with McCloskey argument against the argument of Theistic View is the Theist argument is not to literally prove their belief concretely on the existence of God, but there view is design to give us what is called “Best Explanation”. According to Forman Best Explanation...
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... Self-proclaimed atheist H.J. McClosky attempts to promote atheism as a superior belief to that of theism in his paper “On Being an Atheist”. McClosky begins his paper by referring to philosophical arguments for the existence of God as proofs. Right away there is a problem with this language and the usage of the word proof if one intends to argue with the majority of philosophers who present arguments for the existence of God or most standard arguments. The basic outline of a philosophical argument follows that an argument is either inductive or deductive. A deductive argument holds that the premise entails the conclusion and an inductive argument holds that a premise renders the conclusion likely to be true. Neither form claims to have empirical proof but only to convey validity and soundness of an argument to be accepted by one who is sane, rational and possesses properly working faculties. Secondly, before abandoning an argument for the question of God’s existence because it cannot be definitively proven one can look to three main concepts for approaching the question of His existence. The first of these is the best explanations approach which states that the existence of God is the best explanation for the effects that are observed in the...
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...DESIGN (TELEOLOGICAL) ARGUMENTS Design arguments are empirical, a posteriori and synthetic Telos = end/purpose Arguments state that order design purpose God William Paley – the divine watchmaker * This is an argument from analogy * If one came across a stone on a hill, one would conclude that it was there naturally. However, if one came across a watch, one would assume that it was not there naturally. * This is because the watch is complex, harmonious, planned, functional and purposeful * We would say that such a watch must have an intelligent designer. * The universe is similar – there are many different parts that work together harmoniously and in an apparently purposeful way. It is also complex, self-sufficient and interdependent * Therefore we should assume that the universe has an intelligent designer – God * However, arguably the universe is more akin to a stone than a watch – how can nature itself stick out as something unnatural? * Hume – the world is dissimilar to a watch, and so because the effect is different, we cannot infer the same cause * Also, this argument assumes that there is purpose to the universe, even though there is no evidence as such. * There is much disorder in the world due to natural disasters and wars, unlike a watch * If the universe is flawed, this implies that the creator was flawed. God is supposed to be perfect. * This analogy also anthropomorphises God by...
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...The Design Argument is also known as the Teleological Argument coming from the Greek word ‘telos’ meaning end/purpose. It is an “a posteriori” argument (from experience) based on empirical evidence (based on the 5 senses). It is synthetic (from observation) and is inductive (there are a number of possible conclusions although one may be more probable). The Design Argument states that the universe has order, purpose, regularity and suitability for human life (Sarah Tyler). Complexities of the universe demonstrate some form of design. The design requires a designer. Therefore, for many, the designer is God of the Classical Theism (Hereafter referred to as God). This argument was first introduced by Socrates, a Greek philosopher, showing that the argument is strong as it has survived the test of time as we are still discussing it in the 21st century so the argument has merit and displays longevity. “With such signs of forethought in the design of living creatures, how can there be doubt that they are the work of choice or design” cited by Socrates. There is an early belief that there is design in the world. In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas furthered the design argument through his book, Summa Theologica. He proposed 5 ways to prove the existence of God; one of which was the Teleological argument. For Aquinas, these arguments point to a being “that we call God”. To prove the existence of god, he used the analogy of the archer, arrow and target to show that there must be...
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...the existence of God (25) William Paley's argument for the existence of God is an important aspect of the Design argument, which argues that the universe is being directed towards an end purpose due to the a posteriori (subject to experience) evidence of an intelligent designer, who is God. This is because it is perhaps arguably the most famous version, and the theory which modern-day theories for the Design argument are built upon. The first version of the Design argument came from Plato, a Greek philosopher, who developed it to address the universe's apparent order. Plato proposed in his book Timaeus that a “demiurge”, a divine being of supreme wisdom and intelligence, was the creator of the cosmos. In Roman times, this was built upon by Cicero, a Roman jurist, who put forward an early version of what Paley would use for his design argument. In his book On the Nature of Gods, he put forward an analogy of a sundial being designed to tell the time, and that this could be attributed to nature, so therefore like something must of made the sundial, something must of made nature, and this something is an artificer, or God. These key ideas were later developed in the Dominican priest St.Thomas Aquinas' Five ways in his work the Summa Theologica. Each of his ways were in essence proving the existence of God, but the 5th way in particular, which states that common sense tells us the universe acts in such a way so therefore we conclude an intelligent designer (God) created the world...
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...The Design Argument The design argument is one of the traditional arguments of the existence of God. This argument has a variety of forms. This is an argument that is in support of God’s existence. Many philosophers have their doubt that a God exists. There are philosophers who have supported the design argument, one of the philosophers being Aqunias. Aquinas attacks the other arguments made against the existence of God. There is a formulation that is close to the one that Aquinas used. The formulation is “(1) Among objects that act for an end, some have minds whereas others do not. (2) An object that acts for an end, but does not itself have a mind, must have been designed by a being that has a mind. (3) Hence, there exists a being with a mind who designed all mindless objects that act for an end.” In these formulations it is being explained that an object (us human beings, or anything) acts for an end, basically stating living our lives through our purpose and purpose only. The design argument is also known as the teleological argument, teleogy meaning purpose. The second point translates into the third, it is saying that there was a being who created us that has a purpose, that being is God. There are two sorts of the design argument, they are the global and local design arguments. A global design argument explains general features of the whole universe and argues that this feature should be explained by the hypothesis that it is the product of intelligent design. So...
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...with a natural science and atheistic materialism,” (Junghyung, 2011). Darwin’s Theory of Evolution has been a widespread topic of disagreement for many decades. When his theory was first introduced in the mid 1800s there was controversy between religion and science. At the time Darwin’s theory was mainstreamed most Europeans were still firm in their belief of religion and that the earth was created in seven days by a divine being as described in the bible. “Darwin worked on his theory for 20 years. After learning that another naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had developed similar ideas, the two made a joint announcement of their discovery in 1858. In 1859 Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection',” (bbc.co.uk). “The book was extremely controversial, because the logical extension of Darwin's theory was that homo sapiens was simply another form of animal. It made it seem possible that even people might just have evolved - quite possibly from apes - and destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created. Darwin was vehemently attacked, particularly by the Church. However, his ideas soon gained currency and have become the new orthodoxy,” (bbc.co.uk). Darwin’s theory that everything indeed evolved from something else was unwanted in many schools for many years- people wanted to believe in religion and a divine being not in logic and science. “Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held understanding that all life is related and has...
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