I just got done reading the August 15 issue of Time magazine, entitled "Evolution Wars." Then I fired of a request to justfacts.com to ask them to address this topic. The whole thing puzzles me to no end.
So the two sides of the issue line up as follows: One side says that Darwin's theory of evolution is the only science on the matter of where we came from, and the other side says that there's much more to it. There's lots written about the debate, and the article I just quoted sums it up better than I can. To me, however, there are two things that are usually not addressed during the debate, and weren't in this article, either. This is my attempt at shining a light on them.
First, a disclaimer: When I refer to the "one side" of the story, I'm not talking about the creationists. These are people who do not have science at heart at all. They are religious fanatics. Any modern thinking person who believes that the earth was created in seven literal days -- or anything even close to that -- just because a book says so, is someone with whom I can't have an intelligent conversation. But now, on with it...
The "It's just a theory" theory...
This is the rallying cry of many of the critics of Darwin's theory of evolution. Even the mandatory statement - a disclaimer for evolution in the classroom - that is now being read in public schools in Pennsylvania, says that "...Darwin's theory is a theory, [and] it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered." Somehow, this is meant to discredit it. It does -- but only in the eyes of its critics and of the uneducated.
A theory is ALWAYS "just a theory." All of science is based on "theories" -- even if we call them "laws." Newton's "laws" were just theories, constantly tested, and only recently debunked (by quantum physics -- more theories). Gravity is a theory. All of psychology, medicine, engineering -- it's all based on theories. If someone comes up with evidence to contradict them, then we have to rethink them. That's how science works. Evolution is a theory, too. According to everything I've read (just a theory -- prove me wrong), eveolution is the ONLY theory to explain our origins that actually agrees with experience -- that is, with all known evidence. That is, there IS NO DEBATE within scientific communities on the subject. The TIME article confirms it once again. None. There is no other scientific theory, period. "Intelligent Design" is not a scientific theory -- it's just a way of shifting the discussion.
If you say "it's just a theory" as a way of expressing criticism of Darwin's theory of evolution, you do nothing to help your case. You only show your ignorance.
And now, on the arrogance of claiming "Intelligent Design"...
I've gotta hand it to the folks who came up with the term "intelligent design". Probably the same right-wing folks who coined terms like "pro life" and "collateral damage". They really do have a knack for it. The problem with the term "Intelligent Design", as well as the problem with the whole school of thought, is that it is the height of arrogance to think that for something to be "intelligent", it has to be "intelligible" to us. Furthermore, it is the height of ignorance to think that, for instance, a series of random mutations does not follow a set grand laws that might not
be a form of "intelligence" in themselves. Would an ant look at us and say "now there's an intelligent creature"? I think not. That's because we are not intelligent in any way that the ant can comprehend. In fact, we're pretty stupid in some of the ways it can comprehend. I believe that whatever your concept of God (if you have one), the difference between an ant and a human is infinitely smaller than the difference between a human and God.
The way I see it, the very fact that we can't recognize something as intelligence as we know it tends to strengthen arguments for the presence of God. So, I ask, what are the "intelligent design" folks so worried about?
Show me something that seems preposterous, and I'll show you evidence of God.
"The Theory of Intelligent Design" -- indeed!
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