...Intelligent Design is religion disguised as science, and as such, should not be taught in our public schools. Introduction The town of Dover, PA looks like any other small towns in central Pennsylvania, but in October 2004 when the local school board proposed a slight alteration to the high school biology curriculum a fault line erupted between those who think of intelligent design as science and something that should be taught alongside evolution, and those who think of it as religion disguised as science. As a science teacher myself, I was very interested in this subject, and how school districts nationwide are pushing initiatives recently to put intelligent design in their biology classes. These school districts are struggling with the dilemma of whether or not to teach creationism as an alternative view to evolution theory. If, as many scientific creationists believe, God's message is important in defining the content, aims, and conditions of educational practice, then creationism does belong in the classroom. However, those who propose that creationism is not science, and that "creation science" is a misnomer, are opposed to the intervention of religion into the public educational program; after all, public educational programs should be separate from concerns of the church. The Scientific...
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...had found a way to explain where man had come from that didn’t conform to their set of beliefs, with science and not religion. Creationism was slowly weeded out of school science classes. By the 90s very few schools even taught Creationism. With the presumable loss of the bible’s hold on the teaching of science in American classrooms conservatives needed a new way to get their religion back. For this they brought up intelligent design, saying life was too complicated to be created by chance, that life must have been created by some sort of master creator, a.k.a. God. What follows will be an exploration centering on the nature of biological origins and the various explanations of their existence in terms of two central points of view and the ensuing problems that have resulted from this ongoing discussion. Today there rages a long and colorful debate between the empirical and mystical or more precisely those who believe that species are a product of natural processes (evolution) as opposed to others who espouse an omnipotent causative force (intelligent design). This polarization has led to heated differences of opinion affecting the development of our social systems most notably religion and science. Without a practical understanding of the issues at hand informative discussion becomes vague and unproductive. The founding fathers while drafting the...
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...In the field of product design, sensory domination can be defined as the comparative significance of various sensory elements for product experience. Since product experience does not depend on one sensory element solely, it is motivating to be acquainted with the particular sensory element that plays a foremost part in a particular occurrence, so that designers could focus on the conception of the most pertinent product features. Researchers and scientists suggest that the leading sensory element is closely dependent on the point of product handling and the nature of the product. At the point of purchasing, sight is generally the most significant element, but at later phases, physical contact and hearing become just as significant. Taste and smell are the two elements that come much later. However, at the later phases of product usage, the dominating sensory element would very much relate to the prime purpose of the particular invention and on the features of the user-product interface. To create a full and enduring product experience, it is vital for designers to chew over the interaction between the user and the product itself, not just at the point of purchase but at various phases of product handling, and to establish which sensory occurrence is more essential for the users at every phase. The amendments in the importance of the respective sensory element can be justified by the alteration in the product-user interface. In a retail shop, the contact that consumers have...
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...‘We see examples of design throughout the natural world and conclude that an intelligent designer is clearly demonstrated.’ Assess whether this argument succeeds. The idea of an intelligent designer has split philosophers down the middle. Many different arguments are proposed by philosophers on each side as to why an Intelligent designer exists or doesn't exist. Arguments both from and for design present clearly that there is a god and we know this just by looking at objects around us. However it can be questionable that would an intelligent designer design diseases such as cancer , this rules out the possibility of an omnipotent designer. Examples of design are practically ever, from the printer that printed this work to the waterproofing of feathers on ducks. It is clear to us that a printer has been designed as it would be near impossible that it grew from a tree or just appeared. If I was to say a flying bee is more complex than a printer it would be hard to conceive. However the science or printers has been around for many years now and they are fairly easy to explain, but the flight of bee, a natural object, an insect, has only been understood in recent years. If a printer, which at face value seems more complex than a bee has been designed surely reason permits us to assume that a bee would have also been designed. You don't have to look very far to see evidence of design, a human eye provides a perfect example of design, it is made up of loads of tiny parts...
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...Evolution and Intelligent Design The subject of how life started on this planet we called “Earth” is a very controversial subject. The whole topic is a battle of the beliefs of its inhabitants. It is seen in politics, as well as in schools, the workplace, and other areas that people are interacting. Intelligent Design is occasionally referred to as Creationism. However, the proper title is Intelligent Design. Creationism is more along the lines of a religious assembly. Yet the supporters of both affiliations are called Creationists. Evolution, by definition, is the scientific theory that all life forms on Earth today are descended from a single cell organism (Source B). Intelligent Design is the belief that a higher power fashioned all the forms life as they are now. Charles Darwin created the idea of Natural Selection (Source B). Within it, a specific species can adapt to a change and pass that gene onto its offspring. The genes carry the DNA codes for the evolutionary trait to be passed on (FAQ). Creationists feel the need to harass the evolution theory to “Free God from its shackles” (Leone). Evolution provides significant justification of the relationship linking the life on Earth and the Creator (Leone). As quoted from Leone, “We are formed, by the Creator, from the dust of the Earth.” Evolution is metaphysics; a branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science (Gerdes). Some subjects transform into other...
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...God is an important aspect of the Design argument, which argues that the universe is being directed towards an end purpose due to the a posteriori (subject to experience) evidence of an intelligent designer, who is God. This is because it is perhaps arguably the most famous version, and the theory which modern-day theories for the Design argument are built upon. The first version of the Design argument came from Plato, a Greek philosopher, who developed it to address the universe's apparent order. Plato proposed in his book Timaeus that a “demiurge”, a divine being of supreme wisdom and intelligence, was the creator of the cosmos. In Roman times, this was built upon by Cicero, a Roman jurist, who put forward an early version of what Paley would use for his design argument. In his book On the Nature of Gods, he put forward an analogy of a sundial being designed to tell the time, and that this could be attributed to nature, so therefore like something must of made the sundial, something must of made nature, and this something is an artificer, or God. These key ideas were later developed in the Dominican priest St.Thomas Aquinas' Five ways in his work the Summa Theologica. Each of his ways were in essence proving the existence of God, but the 5th way in particular, which states that common sense tells us the universe acts in such a way so therefore we conclude an intelligent designer (God) created the world, is often the key idea for the Design argument, and the theme which Paley...
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...The Argument for Design Background • Also known as teleological argument from Greek ‘telos’ meaning ‘goal or purpose’ • A posteriori – the DA claims there is evidence of design in the world and so relies on external empirical evidence for its proof. • Inductive argument. • Arguments for design go back at least as far as the Greek philosopher Plato [428-347 B.C.] • Some distinguish between ‘qua regularity’ and ‘qua purpose’, meaning that some DA’s argue on the basis of there being regularity in the Universe whilst others claim there is evidence of the Universe being designed for a purpose. • Three main types of argument are: From order [regularity] From beauty Anthropic [purpose] William Paley [1743-1805] in Natural Theology: Evidences of The Existence and Attributes of the Deity [1805] • Makes use of analogy and likens the complexity of a watch to the complexity of the Universe. Since a watch is clearly designed, so is the Universe [qua regularity]. Also, the human eye is too complex to have arisen by chance so must be designed for some purpose [qua purpose] • Hume [1711-1776] in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding put forward a number of criticisms of the DA before Paley published his work: • Design and order could be the result of chance [the Epicurean hypothesis] • Hume believed the analogy on which the DA is based is unsound...
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...on What is the Relation between Science and Religion William Lane Craig Examines several ways in which science and theology relate to each other. Back in 1896 the president of Cornell University Andrew Dickson White published a book entitled A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. Under White’s influence, the metaphor of “warfare” to describe the relations between science and the Christian faith became very widespread during the first half of the 20th century. The culturally dominant view in the West—even among Christians—came to be that science and Christianity are not allies in the search for truth, but adversaries. To illustrate, several years ago I had a debate with a philosopher of science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver , Canada, on the question “Are Science and Religion Mutually Irrelevant?” When I walked onto the campus, I saw that the Christian students sponsoring the debate had advertised it with large banners and posters proclaiming “Science vs. Christianity.” The students were perpetuating the same sort of warfare mentality that Andrew Dickson White proclaimed over a hundred years ago. What has happened, however, in the second half of this century is that historians and philosophers of science have come to realize that this supposed history of warfare is a myth. As Thaxton and Pearcey point out in their recent book The Soul of Science, for over 300 years between the rise of modern science in the 1500’s and the late 1800s the relationship...
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...Exam 1 study guide Prothero (lectures for 8/23, 8/30, 9/6) • How is religion defined? How is Christianity defined? What are some dis/advantages with each of the definitions? • What is religious literacy (and what are its different forms – pp.14-19)? Why is religious literacy significant (chs. 1-2)? • What does Prothero mean by religious illiteracy? How does this manifest itself (give examples – either from the text or from the lecture notes)? • What does Prothero identify as reasons behind the current religious illiteracy? • What does Prothero offer as a solution for the religious illiteracy problem? How practical is his solution? (ch.5) • Concepts: creationism (pp.213-4). Popper, Lakatos, Hansson (lecture for 9/13) • What is the demarcation problem? • How does Popper answer the demarcation question? What does he mean by falsifiability? What problems are there with his answer? • How does Lakatos answer the demarcation question? What problems are there with his answer? What are the elements of a research programme? Why is this term significant for Lakatos? What is the difference between a progressive and a degenerating research programme? Give examples of each. • What is Hansson proposed answer to the demarcation problem? How is it different from Popper’s and Lakatos’ proposals? Carrier (lectures for 9/13, 9/20) • How does Carrier define scientific literacy? How does this differ from the definition...
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...1 Religion in Schools – Intelligent Design vs. Theory Stephanie C. Hansen Western International University April, 2006 Intelligent Design should be taught in schools, not only viewed as a religious theory. The debate continues on what roles the school should take on controversies regarding Theory of Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Opponents insist that this is a “veiled way” of getting religion into the classroom, and that it should not be allowed. One of the main reasons to have Freedom of Speech is so “Truth” can emerge from vigorous debate on all sides of every important issue. Why then should we Americans ever want to suppress the free discussion of important issues in our public schools? (William McGinnis, 2006) Opponents would insist that Intelligent Design has no part in science. On the contrary, the more Intelligent Design is argued, the more scientific it proves to be. In the book Darwin’s Black Box (Behe) the author contends that “Darwin’s response is no longer adequate because of scientific advances that have occurred since Darwin’s death”. Thus, the Theory of Evolution deserves to be revisited. It wasn’t until after his (Darwin’s) death those life forms could be inspected on a molecular level. Therefore, it would also be “scientific” to re-evaluate the Intelligent Design concept on a scientific level since it has been determined “scientifically” that “even in their most basic forms, various organisms are so complex that they...
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...Peterson Intelligent Design October 27, 2013 Take a moment to think about the world around you and all of its beauty. From the ever flowing Mississippi River, to the ledges of the mighty Grand Canyon, or even to the peak of Mt. Fuji there is an immense amount of things on this Earth that are so incredible it is hard to believe science and chance created these magnificent things. So what is the best explanation for these occurrences? I believe that these occurrences scream of an intelligent designer which also leads us to the existence of God. First I must explain what an argument for design is and then we will look at Paley’s Watchmaker Theory to give us better insight on this argument. Then I will point to Betty and Cordell’s argument that the things of our universe lead us to a belief in God (intelligent designer) and that the Big Bang theory is not the best explanation alone for the existence of God, and that a multiverse is not the best explanation for the existences in our universe. Design arguments most often try to explain the existence of God by pointing to various occurrences and objects within our world and universe that lead us to believe that there is an intelligent designer. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, design arguments usually consist of three premises. One is a premise that asserts that the material universe exhibits some verifiable property (F); Two is a premise that asserts that (F) is persuasive evidence of intelligent design or purpose;...
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...Running head: WRITING ASSIGNMENT 4 Ivy Tech Community College Abstract The separation between the church and state has been an immense issue throughout the years and will continue to be an issue. There are many different groups that oppose the idea of keeping the church and state separate, but America is a very diverse country filled with people of different races and who have many different religions and beliefs. I believe that by keeping the church and state separate when dealing with education is beneficial. Writing Assignment 4 The separation of church and state, is the concept to keep religions out of government. It was made to keep the government neutral and so no national religion would ever be established. Over the years is has been a very heated issue. As this issue grows, America grows in population, our nation is the only country where people from many different backgrounds and cultures come together, and with them come all their different religions. History Our nation was started because people craved freedom of religion. Many Pilgrims fled from Great Britain to acquire freedom of religion, because at that time Great Britain had a national religion. It was so important to them to have religious freedom that they gave up all they had. They gave up the security of staying in Great Britain and they travelled to the unknown. Many of them died in the first year they were here. They made a sacrifice to better the lives of their children and everyone else...
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...Intelligent Design This article is about intelligent design and whether or not it is a scientific theory, or a religious belief. Intelligent design is the theory that life, or the universe, cannot have arisen by chance and that it was created by some intelligent entity. In my philosophy class that I took a couple of semesters ago, we talked a lot about this. I am a firm believer that nothing in this world was created alone, and that cause has a cause and so on. “Intelligent design is overwhelmingly deemed by the scientific community as a religious belief and not a scientific theory,” President Jo Ann Gora said. “Therefore, intelligent design is not appropriate content for science courses (2013, pg.1). Teaching and discussing religion is an issue for many schools all over the world. I know where I went to school we were not allowed to talk about God or anything of that nature because it might offend people. In the second grade, we had a Christmas play, and one boy was not allowed to participate in the play because of his religion. This quote is an example of how intelligent design in the class room is not appropriate to discuss because science is a completely different subject than religion. Science is based on real facts, and for some religion is just an opinion. A lot of scientists are saying that intelligent design and creation science do not qualify as science. Religion today is still a very important part of many people’s lives. Many of these people are sitting in classrooms...
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...There’s No Room: A look at public schools’ design for science and evolution Nicole McCormick PHI103: Informal Logic (GSK1216H) Instructor Micheal Pelt May 21, 2012 The 1987 Supreme Court ruling on the case of Edward v Aguillard, struck down a Louisiana Law requiring “balanced treatment” between “creation science” and evolution. The Supreme Court found “creation science” to be unconstitutional, a statute that forbade teaching evolution unless “creation science” was also taught. Edward v Aguillard made it clear you cannot teach creation science alongside evolution (Brown, Feb2012). This argument of if evolution should be taught in public schools has waged on for decades, and as long as some continue to believe in intelligent design while others in evolution, it is a battle that will no doubt continue on, with unnatural selections for some. Intelligent design is primarily a religious belief and not a scientific tenet, which forms the basis for why it should not be taught in public school science courses. This essay will discuss how evolution in public school science classrooms serves best with the national science curriculum, and how theories of creationism and intelligent design (ID), try as they may, have no place in public science classrooms. Research will begin with data that includes the said appropriateness of evolution, and how the study of evolution in school is in line with the teachings of biological science. Next, what will be considered are the creationist...
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...Heter Lecture Two: The Argument from Design by Paley [1] Overview. William Paley argued that the universe is so complex that it must have been designed by a higher power. Paley compares the natural universe to a watch. The complexity of the watch proves that it must have been designed. Such a meticulous machine could not have arise by chance. Since the natural universe is far more complex than a watch (think of a human heart), the natural universe must have a designer that is very powerful. This designer must be all powerful; thus the designer must be God. Paley’s argument has been revived in the past five years under the name of “Intelligent Design.” The Intelligent Design Argument is exactly the same as Paley’s argument, with only one exception. The Intelligent Design Argument concludes that “a higher power of some sort, that we might call an ‘intelligent designer’ must exist.” But the argument does not call the ‘intelligent designer’ God. [2] Note on terms: “Teleological.” The Argument from Design has two different names. The argument is also called the “Teleological Argument.” The word “teleological” comes from the Greek word “telos” which means “end” or “purpose.” Paley believes that the universe has a purpose (telos) just like a watch has a purpose (to tell time). For example, the purpose of a human heart is to pump blood. [3] The Argument from Design Premise 1.If an object has a design then it must have a designer. (A watch, for...
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