Q. Does Intelligent Design prove the existence of God?
A. There are many aspects of ID, but in essence the argument is that some form of intrinsic intelligence exists that gives rise to internal motivation which has the result of producing complexity. This ‘watchmaker’ theory has been a strong contender for verifying the existence of God for over 200 years.
Today ID focuses it arguments on such as the biological flagellum which appears to be an irreducibly complex system. In other words many of its individual complex features would have had to appear all at once for a flagellum to function and reproduce. Evolution over time would not work.
Such arguments are being eroded by opposing theories which suggest that each feature could have evolved in completely separate life forms. These life forms could have found themselves in close proximity, perhaps at death, and recombination of the desired features could then have ‘naturally’ occurred resulting in the complete flagellum.
This is the heart of the problem of attempting to use science to prove a ‘spiritual’ reality. No matter how well constructed the argument for ID counter arguments will persist. And we are back to the, somewhat overused, ‘God of the Gaps’ argument. We therefore have to accept the fact that in general science and religion are complementary forms of truth. If we wish to ‘prove’ the reality of God the best we can do is to design an experiment using scientific method, but always realising that the thing we are experimenting with is ‘spiritual’. As science doesn’t have a transducer capable of measuring ‘spirit’, science cannot show us direct results of any experiment we care to design. Fortunately we, as individuals, do have access to suitable transducer equipment, but in our fast moving technological world it is all too often ignored.
Further information concerning such an experiment can be found in Beyond All Reasonable Doubt from page 105 to page 116 and how to improve on such an experiment from page 120 to page 145 in The Thoughtful Guide to Science and Religion.
A. There are many aspects of ID, but in essence the argument is that some form of intrinsic intelligence exists that gives rise to internal motivation which has the result of producing complexity. This ‘watchmaker’ theory has been a strong contender for verifying the existence of God for over 200 years.
Today ID focuses it arguments on such as the biological flagellum which appears to be an irreducibly complex system. In other words many of its individual complex features would have had to appear all at once for a flagellum to function and reproduce. Evolution over time would not work.
Such arguments are being eroded by opposing theories which suggest that each feature could have evolved in completely separate life forms. These life forms could have found themselves in close proximity, perhaps at death, and recombination of the desired features could then have ‘naturally’ occurred resulting in the complete flagellum.
This is the heart of the problem of attempting to use science to prove a ‘spiritual’ reality. No matter how well constructed the argument for ID counter arguments will persist. And we are back to the, somewhat overused, ‘God of the Gaps’ argument. We therefore have to accept the fact that in general science and religion are complementary forms of truth. If we wish to ‘prove’ the reality of God the best we can do is to design an experiment using scientific method, but always realising that the thing we are experimenting with is ‘spiritual’. As science doesn’t have a transducer capable of measuring ‘spirit’, science cannot show us direct results of any experiment we care to design. Fortunately we, as individuals, do have access to suitable transducer equipment, but in our fast moving technological world it is all too often ignored.
Further information concerning such an experiment can be found in Beyond All Reasonable Doubt from page 105 to page 116 and how to improve on such an experiment from page 120 to page 145 in The Thoughtful Guide to Science and Religion.
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