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Brief History
Intelligent Design, is it a science?
By: Mike Bird, Molly Cook,
Tammera Holden
Definitions
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Intelligent Design: the concept that certain features of the universe
and of all living things are best explained by an intelligent cause,
not an undirected process.
Evolution: The explanation and exploration of the unity and
diversity of life, all biological organisms evolve through natural
selection, evolutionary adaptations and inheritance of acquired
characteristics.
For a theory to be considered scientific it must be;
Consistent, parsimonious, and useful
Must be empirically testable and falsifiable
Based upon multiple observations
Correctable and dynamic
Progressive and provisional
• 1802 William Paley (“father of intelligent
design”) introduces argument for
intelligent designer
• 1859 Charles Darwin introduces Origin of
Species evidence
• 1800’s through current many arguments
attempted for and against these ideas
• 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover (ID barred from
public science class)
Basic Law
• U.S. Constitutional Amendment 1, Penn.
Const. article I & III.
• Applied in the case of Kitzmiller vs. Dover
area school district.
• States that I.D. is not a science, and
could not be taught in school.
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In favor of I.D.
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So much evidence supports evolution, because it is the only
explanation for the origin of life that has been tested and studied.
Current scientists are abiding by “the Earth is flat “ theory due to the
fact that they are not considering all explanations, such as I.D..
Scientists should look at I.D. as an untested and unproven
hypothesis, and further explore the issue, as opposed to looking at
it as a church and state issue.
Therefore, Intelligent Design should be taught in the science class
for a well balanced education.
Irreducible Complexity (Micheal Behe)
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ABC’s of Evolution
Specified Complexity (William Dem bski)
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If an event is complex (not easily repeatable by chance) and
specified (exhibits independently given pattern), then it is CSI
complex specified information
DNA is an example of CSI
The fact that CSI exists is evidence for design, because intelligence
is necessary to produce CSI
FLAW: Scientists argue
If Dembski were right then brand new organisms could not come
into existence without a designer
Scientists do find that brand new organisms are continuously
coming into existence
These show the same evidence for evolution and no more
implication of an intelligent designer than we had before
Darwin said, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ
existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous,
successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break
down.”
Some systems do seem difficult to form by such successive
modifications
I call these irreducibly complex
The flagella of bacteria are an example of such irreducibly complex
systems
Since such systems could not have evolved they must have been
designed
FLAW: Scientists have shown that a small group of proteins from
the flagellum do work without the rest, therefore it is not irreducibly
complex
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Early thoughts: Judeo Christian culture believed that species are
fixed. The world remained constant and unchanging after creation.
(I.D.)
17th century: James Usher declared that the date of life's creation
was 4004 B.C.
Early 1800’s: Lamarck finds fossils that show inheritance of
acquired characteristics, organisms adapt to changes in their
environment and pass those changes on to their offspring.
James Hutton and Charles Lyell establish the principle of
uniformitism. This states that past geological events occurred by
natural processes similar to today. Thus many geological processes
cannot be explained if the Earth is only 5000 years old, thus proving
the Earth is millions of years old.
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ABC’s of Evolution
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Darwins theory of Evolution
(130 years old)
1. Perpetual change
2. Common descent
3. Multiplication of species
4. Gradualism
5. Natural selection
Proven evolutionary changes show I.D. to
be false
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Proven evolutionary changes in fossils such as;
Hominid skulls
Petrified trees
Ammonite casts
Fossilized organic matter in fossilized leaves
Scorpions in amber
Against I.D.
• I.D. does not have credible scientific proof
to prove its theory.
• There is no way to test I.D.
• The lack of scientific proof for I.D. makes
it improper to include this as a part of a
science class.
Evolution Evidence
• Fossil record shows that organisms have
appeared in a historical sequence.
• Many fossils link early species with living
species today.
• Evidence for evolution comes from biography,
comparative anatomy, and comparative
embryology.
• If evolution is supported by facts, and is proven
true, how can I.D. be true?
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Against I.D.
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It is scientific proof that adaptive change results when natural
selection upsets genetic equilibrium.
Natural selection results in the accumulation of traits that adapt a
population to its environment.
If the environment should change, natural selection will favor traits
that are adapted to the new conditions.
This is proven through fossil history, thus proving evolution to be
true.
Bibliography
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AAAS Board Resolution on Intelligent Design Theory, U.S.A.
Today, 11-06-2002
Intelligent Design: What Do Scientists Fear?, U.S.A. Today, 11-302005
Intelligent Design? Natural History Magazine, April 2002
Wikipedia.org (intelligent design, evolution, science)
MSNBC. COM
Principles of Zoology. 12th edition. Hickman. McGrath. 2004
Reason and Responsibility. 12th edition. Feinberg, Shafer-Landau.
Wadsworth. 2005
• The end
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