Intelligent Design Theory: Science or Religion?

rosborne,

Personally I think that Darwin already answered arguments similar to those of intelligent design theory. Therefore, teaching intelligent design alongside natural selection is like teaching geocentrism alongside heliocentrism.

Darwin's literary style is very much a product of the nineteenth century. There was no television, no radio, and most towns and cities would not support a large and elaborate theater community. Public speaking was the most popular form of group entertainment, especially in the evening. When people stayed home, reading aloud was equally as popular. Public speakers and authors were esteemed for their ability to express themselves in what was then considered an elegant manner, and which displayed the author or speaker's erudition. When Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg, he used a few minutes. Edward Everett had spoken before he did, and spoke literally for hours. Everett was a quick, perceptive intellect, and he immediately congratulated Lincoln for saying as much or more on the subject in minutes than he had in hours. However, neither the press nor the public were impressed, and most accounts, if they mentioned Lincoln's speech at all, found it lackluster and pedestrian.

Darwin's writing style is surprisingly lucid by the standards of his day.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found the ingredients for life all the way back to a time when the universe was a mere youngster.

Using Spitzer, scientists have detected organic molecules in galaxies when our universe was one-fourth of its current age of about 14 billion years. These large molecules, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are comprised of carbon and hydrogen. The molecules are considered to be among the building blocks of life.

These complex molecules are very common on Earth. They form any time carbon-based materials are not burned completely. They can be found in sooty exhaust from cars and airplanes, and in charcoal broiled hamburgers and burnt toast.

The molecules, pervasive in galaxies like our own Milky Way, play a significant role in star and planet formation. Spitzer is the first telescope to see these molecules so far back in time.

"This is 10 billion years further back in time than we've seen them before," said Dr. Lin Yan of the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. Yan is lead author of a study to be published in the August 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. Previous missions -- the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and the Infrared Space Observatory -- detected these types of galaxies and molecules much closer to our own Milky Way galaxy. Spitzer's sensitivity is 100 times greater than these previous infrared telescope missions, enabling direct detection of organics so far away.

Since Earth is approximately four-and-a-half billion years old, these organic materials existed in the universe well before our planet and solar system were formed and may have even been the seeds of our solar system. Spitzer found the organic compounds in galaxies where intense star formation had taken place over a short period of time. These "flash in the pan" starburst galaxies are nearly invisible in optical images because they are very far away and contain large quantities of light-absorbing dust. But the same dust glows brightly in infrared light and is easily spotted by Spitzer.

Spitzer's infrared spectrometer split the galaxies' infrared light into distinct features that revealed the presence of organic components. These organic features gave scientists a milepost to gauge the distance of these galaxies. This is the first time scientists have been able to measure a distance as great as 10-billion light years away using the spectral fingerprints of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

"These complex compounds tell us that by the time we see these galaxies, several generations of stars have already been formed," said Dr. George Helou of the Spitzer Science Center, a co-author of the study. "Planets and life had very early opportunities to emerge in the universe."

satt, many areas of the universe actually give off spectra for specific dextro proteins and nucleotides.

Darwin did not intend his theory to be extended by analogy to the social sciences which is what Herbert Spencer tried to do by inventing "social darwinism".

......corresponds to what I have understood as I look around me and as I do my own work....I am not as articulate,...but the work I do in my own life I see magnified a million times in the universe around me.

High school science standards are crafted to mirror the predominant research in scholarly fields. By the time a topic makes it into the standards, it has been rigorously tested and supported by a scientific consensus.
That's why scientists such as Dan Miller, head of the Science Department at Hickman High School, say evolution's critics are trying to bypass the scientific process and head straight to the classroom, via politics and rhetoric.
"We start out the evolution unit knowing it's a hot potato," he says.
Miller is tuned into the controversy. He knows about intelligent design, about state Rep. Cynthia Davis' bill to require criticism of evolution in science texts, about the pro-evolution lobbying of the National Center for Science Education and the intelligent design powerhouse, the Discovery Institute. He says he's not married to Charles Darwin; he just understands the nature of science and wants his students to understand it as well.
"The intelligent design bills come from lawyers, not scientists," Miller says. "It's all about pushing an agenda."
Evolution gives teachers a chance to go back to the basics of what science can and cannot do, Miller says.
In Columbia the curriculum compels teachers to use fossils, similarities in anatomy and DNA between species to support the theory of evolution. Neither state nor local standards tell schools which materials to use.
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Copyright © 2005 Columbia Missourian

The state of Missouri also has pending legislation requiring an evolution disclaimer in their public schools. Today's issue of The Missourian (a Columbia, Missouri newspaper) talks about the controversy in that state. Below are some excerpts:

Quote:

High school science standards are crafted to mirror the predominant research in scholarly fields. By the time a topic makes it into the standards, it has been rigorously tested and supported by a scientific consensus.
That's why scientists such as Dan Miller, head of the Science Department at Hickman High School, say evolution's critics are trying to bypass the scientific process and head straight to the classroom, via politics and rhetoric.
"We start out the evolution unit knowing it's a hot potato," he says.
Miller is tuned into the controversy. He knows about intelligent design, about state Rep. Cynthia Davis' bill to require criticism of evolution in science texts, about the pro-evolution lobbying of the National Center for Science Education and the intelligent design powerhouse, the Discovery Institute. He says he's not married to Charles Darwin; he just understands the nature of science and wants his students to understand it as well.
"The intelligent design bills come from lawyers, not scientists," Miller says. "It's all about pushing an agenda."
Evolution gives teachers a chance to go back to the basics of what science can and cannot do, Miller says.
In Columbia the curriculum compels teachers to use fossils, similarities in anatomy and DNA between species to support the theory of evolution. Neither state nor local standards tell schools which materials to use.
.
Copyright © 2005 Columbia Missourian

Xpr, you use what Pascal called the esprit de finesse, which he contrasted with the esprit geometrique.

Parents should pledge to exclude both social darwinism and creationism from the education of their children.