“Einstein's theory of
gravitation replaced
Newton's, but apples did
not suspend themselves
in mid-air pending the
outcome.”
INTELLIGENT DESIGN:
MODERN CREATIONISM
by Jielle Anne G. Dote
BS Biology
Major in Genetics
Significance of the seminar
In America, textbooks were only allowed to
discuss the theory of Natural Selection.
The proponents of Intelligent Design (ID)
prove that the theory
is supported by scientific evidences and
is not a mere religious statement only.
However, court trials were held and until today,
ID is still not recognized as a scientific theory.
ID supporters say that irreducible complexity could be taught
as a controversial discovery claim rather than an
alternative to evolutionary biology.
Objectives of the seminar
The seminar will be conducted for the audience
to be able to:
Be updated with the issues related in the
field of developmental biology;
Distinguish the difference between
creationism and the Intelligent Design
Theory; and
Evaluate whether or not the theory is
scientific.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
A proposition that
“certain features on the universe
and of living things
are best explained
by an intelligent cause,
not an undirected, chance-based process
such as Darwinian evolution.”
HISTORY
The Homunculus
(miniature human within a sperm)
17th Century
Preformationism Hypothesis
“the unfolding and increase in size
of organisms that pre-existed within
germ cells”
Drawing by Dutch inventor
Nicolas Hartsoeker
The vis essentialis
18th Century
German Physiologist Friedrich Wolff
“an epigenetic force inherent in a
relatively amorphous structure
that can mould itself into an organism”
The Irreducible Complexity
Term coined in 1996 only
Hypothetical force outside
the known laws of nature existed
“the function of the system
only appears when the system is essentially
complete”
PROPONENTS
Michael Behe
Married to Celeste; with nine children
Currently serves as a professor at
Lehigh University in Pennsylvania
Author of the book
“Darwin’s Black Box:
The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution”
Coined the term “Irreducible Complexity”
Stephen Meyer
Degree in physics and earth science in
Whitworth College
PhD dissertation was entitled
"Of clues and causes: A methodological
interpretation of origin of life studies”
Director and Senior Fellow of the
Center for Science and Culture
at the Discovery Institute
Philip Johnson
Father of Intelligent Design Movement
Retired law professor at the
University of California, Berkeley
Popularized the term "intelligent design"
in his 1991 book, Darwin on Trial
Theistic realism vs. Atheistic Evolution
EVIDENCES
The Bacterial Flagellum
acts as a rotary propeller -- in contrast to the
cilium, which acts more like an oar
staggering complexity, with dozens or even
hundreds of precisely tailored parts
Random mutation may lead to “creation” of any
of the parts but it takes a certain intelligence to
assemble a functional organelle
The Mousetrap
Behe’s response to
mousetrap critics
1. McDonald's reduced-component traps are not
single-step intermediates in the building of the
mousetrap I showed
2. Intelligence was intimately involved in
constructing the series of traps
3. If intelligence is necessary to make something
as simple as a mousetrap, we have strong
reason to think it is necessary to make the
much more complicated machinery of the cell.
Conclusion
The Intelligent Design is only one of the
many ways that the thinkers could offer
to explain how things came to existence
(i.e. how organisms reached a certain
complexity). In the end, it is still the
reader, the student, or the citizen that
gets to choose which force drove the
earth to existence.
quotations
“The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us;
and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic”
Charles Darwin
“This isn’t really, and never has been, a debate about science.
It’s about religion and philosophy.”
Philip E. Johnson
“Darwinian scenarios…are very easy to believe if we aren't
willing…to scrutinize the smallest details... they invite us to
admire the intelligence of natural selection. But the
intelligence we are admiring is our own..”
Michael Behe
References
Behe, M. Darwin’s black box: the biochemical challenge to evolution. 1st Ed. Free
Press, USA. 1996
Behe, M. A mousetrap defended: response to critics.
[Link] 2000.
Dembski, W.A. Intelligent design: the bridge between science and theology.
Intervarsity Press. 2002
Feltz, B., M. Crommelinck and P. Goujon. Self-organization and emergence in life
sciences. Springer Science. Netherlands. 2006.
Grinnell, F. Intelligent design: fallacy recapitulates ontogeny. The FASEB Journal.
2006;20:410-411
Johnson, P.E. Darwin on trial. InterVarsity Press. USA. 1991.
Mcdonald, JH. A reducibly complex mousetrap.
[Link] 2002
Meyer S.C. The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories.
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 117(2):213-239. 2004
Rast, B. Half a mousetrap doesn't work: irreducible complexity unravels Darwin. June,
2004