The State of Intelligent Design

The State of Intelligent Design

The North Texas Skeptics17 October 2009


History•Creation science•Losses in court•Intelligent Design to the rescue•The wedge•Kitzmiller revelation

Here and now•Propagandists•Major players

The Core Issue Of Intelligent Design


Creation ScienceYoung EarthBible basedComplete denial of evolutionBig loss in Arkansas (1982) and Louisiana (1987)Banned from public schools


Intelligent Design to the Rescue

Drops any mention of G*dFeatures real scientists with real degreesDoes not dispute the obvious (age of the Earth, etc.)Argument from complexityOpposition to natural processes


Origins of Intelligent DesignMichael Denton, Richard Dawkins, Phillip JohnsonDarwinism: Scientific Inference or Philosophical Preference” at Southern Methodist University (SMU)John Buell and the FTE: Pandas and PeopleDiscovery Institute Center for Science and CultureThe Wedge


The Intelligent Design AgendaThe Wedge Document

An internal statement of policy and action

Copy obtained and posted on the WebEmbarrassing to the CSC but eventually acknowledgedCountered by the So What document


The WedgeFive Year Goals

•To see intelligent design theory as an accepted alternative in the sciences and scientific research being done from the perspective of design theory.•To see the beginning of the influence of design theory in spheres other than natural science.•To see major new debates in education, life issues, legal and personal responsibility pushed to the front of the national agenda.

Twenty Year Goals•To see intelligent design theory as the dominant perspective in science.•To see design theory application in specific fields, including molecular biology, biochemistry, paleontology, physics and cosmology in the natural sciences, psychology, ethics, politics, theology and philosophy in the humanities; to see its innuence in the fine arts.•To see design theory permeate our religious, cultural, moral and political life.


Trouble in River CityKitzmiller and disaster in PennsylvaniaWhat NCSE research revealed: transitional fossils.The lie of the origin of Intelligent Design.Subpoenaed drafts reveal the origins of Pandas in creationism.


Disaster in DoverKitzmiller v. Dover Board of Education

•Abetted by the CSC•Overt religious agenda•Intelligent Design failed to present a case•Perjury by the creationists•Revealing evidence from NCSE•A stinging rebuke from the bench•Resulted in enormous spin campaign by the CSC•So What Document


The Lie Behind PandasTransitional Fossils

Creation Biology (1983), p. 3-34



Biology and Origins (1987), p. 3-38



Of Pandas and People (1987, creationist version), p. 3-40



Of Pandas and People (1987, “intelligent design” version), p. 3-41


The Workings of Intelligent DesignPhillip Johnson

•Darwin on Trial•The Right Questions: Answering the Toughest Questions about Intelligent Design•The Wedge of Truth•Reason in the Balance•The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law, & Education•Objections Sustained•Defeating Darwinism - By Opening Minds


The Workings of Intelligent DesignWilliam Dembski

•Uncommon Dissent•The Design Revolution•The Design Inference•No Free Lunch•Intelligent Design•Mere Creation; Science, Faith & Intelligent Design•Unapologetic Apologetics•Signs of Intelligence•Debating Design


The Workings of Intelligent Design

Jonathan Wells

•Icons of Evolution•The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent DesignThe Design Inference



Videos•Icons of Evolution•Unlocking the Mystery of Life•The Privileged Planet•Expelled.



Propagandists•Casey Luskin•Robert Crowther•David Berlinski•David Klinghoffer•Michael Egnor•Anika Smith



Propaganda•Trashing Judge Jones•Expelled and the Nazis•Emphasis on Ph.D.•Dubious claims of peer-review



Appeal to Conservative Politics•Glenn Beck•Luskin on Fox•Meyer on TV (other than conservative outlets)



Trench Warfare Tactics•Teach the controversy•Academic freedom•Keep religious-based science out of the schools


The Workings of Intelligent DesignTrench Warfare Tactics

•The controversy about evolution is exactly the opposition to evolution by creationists. Creationists produce the controversy by objecting to evolution. Then they propose to resolve the controversy by getting their own way.•Academic freedom is not an open door to everything. The classic movie Debbie Does Dallas, along with creationism, falls among the topics that might be excluded.•Calling reliance on natural causes a religion is sort of like calling a whale a fish. Herman Melville could get away with it, but Moby-Dick is fiction, and Melville was allowed a little artistic license. We do not need to be so kind to the new creationists.

The State of Intelligent Design

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