09 December 2009

Who designed the designer?



The biological complexity that we found in our world today is explained by evolution, namely all life from has originated from a single source and via random mutation, some forms out-perform some other forms and become more abundant.

Intelligent design has a different explanation, namely the complexity is created by a divine being.

How do we choose between these two "possible" explanations?

1. We need a question for designer of the designer because the divine being must be more complex than the sum of the complexity we found in order to be able to create such complexity. Here we end up with an entity which is more complex than the artefacts being explained. Saying god is only a mind without a body and hence is more simple is non-sense. A mind without body cannot create things. In order for a bodiless god to create thing, we need further assumption that god can do so. That's complexity on complexity. Evolution demonstrate ONE way (may not be the only way) how complexity can be created out of simplicity. Evolution reduces the complexity. Yes, there is still a first cause unexplained by evolution - and evolution does not claim to explain that too.
2. We also may look at the predictive power of the explanation. Can the theory lead us to discoveries which further support the theory? God leads us no where in terms of finding new species. Evolution can and has. Note: the acid test of a theory is whether the theory can predict in the domain where the theory applies. If we apply god as an explanation, then god must be used to predict outcome about biological complexity. So far, none! For those interested, read Francis Collin's The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, p86-87, how a devoted christian scientists reject intelligent design.

I really find it very interesting to look at the amount of mental contortion religious has to do in order to fit their god into things when they use god as a gap-filler.

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