Intelligent Design

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Intelligent design refers to a modern argument that God informed the development of some features of the universe and living things, which counters the indirect natural selection process as described by Charles Darwin's theories on evolution.

Background

  • Intelligent design was popularized in the early 19th century by an English clergyman William Paley who explained that the existence of God is evinced in the intricacies of life. Paley believed life is too complicated to emerge without an intelligent creator. The difference between this theory and creationism is that it does not explicitly mention God. This argument prevailed until Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species" explained how life can be created through natural processes.
  • Proponents of intelligent design want the theory taught in America's schools. Teaching creationism in school was banned by the Supreme Court in 1987, but intelligent design uses molecular biology to buttress Paley's original argument.
  • School districts across the country (mostly in the mid-west) have been debating whether to allow intelligent design to be taught along side evolution in public schools.

Debate

  • Proponents of intelligent design argue that evolution is just a theory with a number of holes that science cannot explain. Despite these gaps, the theory is taught as fact in schools and alternatives explanations for the origin of life should be given the same treatment.
  • Critics argue that alternative theories of life that include supernatural intervention are not scientific because they cannot be tested by experimentation. Scientists assert that the claims put forward in intelligent design theory are outright inconsistent with known fact. One such claim is that organisms are complex, but biologists point to simple organisms as counter examples.

Country Comparison

  • The intelligent design movement arose out of Christian fundamentalist and evangelistic creation science movements in the United States and has not gained much support outside of the U.S.

Recent Legislation

  • In December 2005, a U.S. District Judge struck down a Pennsylvania school board policy requiring a statement be read by science teachers endorsing intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in high school biology classes.
  • Also in 2005, the Kansas State Board of Education held a series of hearings to review changes on how the origin of life would be taught in public high school science classes. The hearings were boycotted by the scientific community and led to new standards for teaching science that included intelligent design a critical analysis of evolution. However, voters expressed their disapproval for the new science standards by electing a Democratic majority to the board that vowed to overturn the policy.


Where do the major players stand on this Issue?

Stance Person Profession
Bill Maher Comedian and Commentator

Intelligent Design Forum


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started by Niels, views since Oct 10, 2007
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Updated 6 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes ago
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Congress Does Not Legislate Religous Beliefs . >>
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Updated 47 days, 19 hours, 32 minutes ago
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Updated 80 days, 7 hours, 16 minutes ago
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