Questions tagged [intelligent-design]
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Does Intelligent Design (ID) entail an infinite regress of designers, and if so, is that problematic?
We can arrive at an infinite regress of designers as follows:
Suppose that X is so complex that it's considered to show evidence of design. Accordingly, we infer that an intelligent designer must be ...
user66156
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Is the surprising applicability of mathematics to the physical world a brute fact, or something crying out for a theistic explanation?
William Lane Craig proposed the following argument for God's existence:
For those who are unfamiliar with the argument for God from the applicability of mathematics to the physical world, here is a ...
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Does the "Sniper Firing Squad" analogy undermine the anthropic principle’s objection to the fine-tuning argument for God's existence?
The anthropic principle, also known as the "observation selection effect", is the hypothesis, first proposed in 1957 by Robert Dicke, that the range of possible observations that could be ...
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How does the theory of evolution make it less likely that the world is designed?
The theory of evolution, in many people’s eyes, seems to be evidence against a designer God. But why?
Some may point out to the fact that random mutations and natural selection help explain the ...
user62907
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Is there a general theory of intelligence and design that would allow us to detect the presence of design in an object based solely on its properties?
There are many candidates for what could be considered to be an intelligent agent. Examples include humans, animals, aliens, AI (e.g. ChatGPT?), and supernaturalists would probably add angels, deities,...
user66156
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If we encounter what appears to be an advanced extraterrestrial technological device, would the claim that it was designed be falsifiable?
Suppose we go to Mars and come across what appears to be a highly advanced technological device of extraterrestrial origin. Let's call this object X. Would the claim "X was designed" be ...
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Does Intelligent Design fulfill the necessary criteria to be recognized as a scientific theory?
I am seeking a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the concept of Intelligent Design (ID) in order to determine whether it meets the essential requirements to be considered a scientific theory. I ...
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What are philosophical arguments for the position that Intelligent Design is nothing but "Creationism in disguise"?
I would like to start this question quoting one of the comments to this answer to the question Does Intelligent Design (ID) entail an infinite regress of designers, and if so, is that problematic?.
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Extraterrestrial organisms similar to humans and design [closed]
If we ever confirm that intelligent extraterrestrial organisms similar to ourselves are living on other planets, is that a fact which would make our being designed along with them more probable? For ...
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Do the defenses that science has implemented against a political attack undercut the ability to evaluate teleological science questions? [closed]
A political movement attempted to subvert the teaching of evolutionary science by miming the forms of science, and calling themsleves, first "Creation Science" and then "Intelligent ...
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Does the existence of humans increase the plausibility of other kinds of designers?
This is a question that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around that can be best illustrated as an example. SETI is a project that tries to monitor radio signals to detect extraterrestrial ...
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What is the response to this criticism of the fine-tuning argument?
So the fine tuning argument has been used to argue for theism, or the multiverse. The argument as I understand it goes something like this:
We live in a universe with life.
The physical constants of ...
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Is a purposeless design possible?
When analyzing an unknown object, one of the first things to consider is: "Is this natural or artificial (intelligently designed)?" As a scientist/engineer it is difficult to imagine a ...
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Would seeing the stars spell out a sentence justify belief in a designer?
Suppose you looked out at the night sky and saw the stars literally spell out a sentence saying, “God is real.”
Now, as a thought experiment, let’s assume that you could somehow know that
a) this isn’...
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Is the design answer to fine-tuning sufficiently complete?
If the problem of "fine tuning for life" (SEP) is that the precise value of some constants (and laws) in physics seems necessary to the emergence of life in our universe but at the same time ...
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Do multiverse theories undermine intelligent design arguments mathematically?
It is well known that the probability of life arising in a universe of our sort is vanishingly small. Theists have used this fact to argue that life is designed by God. However, if there are an ...
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Is Robin Collins correct that a “Theory of Everything” doesn’t solve the fine tuning problem?
Suppose that there was a theory that explained why certain physical constants are the way that they are, the same constants that purportedly seem to be “fine tuned” for life in the sense that if they ...
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What phenomena can give the appearance of design?
Here's a quote from Richard Dawkins:
"Biology is the study of complicated things that have the appearance of having been designed with a purpose."
My question is this. What types of ...
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What amount of complexity is enough to warrant intelligent design?
As our research into the cell progresses over the decades, we are seeing greater and greater levels of complexity. According to our current understanding, the cell resembles some sort of miniaturized ...
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Does the simulation hypothesis bring back certain ideas long rejected by skeptics and typically associated with religious believes?
The following ideas have long been rejected by the scientific skeptical community as superstitious and incompatible with reason:
That the universe has been designed by intelligent being(s) - the so-...
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In what way is the fine tuning argument supposed to lead us to prefer design?
It is said that if the physical constants were any different, by even a minute amount, life as we know it would not even exist.
Ignoring the problems with what it means to have certain constants ...
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Do responses to the design argument for god beg the question?
Evolution by explaining the diversity of species is historically taken to refute or atleast lower the plausibility of species being designed by a being. The success of physics and other phenomena that ...
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Does the ability to use fossil fuels require a Designer
I was thinking about my car today and what would happen if it's been too long since I changed the air filter. Probably it would get less and less air as the filter clogged up and so it would function ...
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Does the emergence of language count as "intelligent design"? [closed]
Suppose language evolved through some kind of natural, iterative process... pre-linguistic humans or their ancestors developed over time. Does this count as "intelligent design" ? So would ...
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If you had no knowledge of other humans, would seeing a human designed artifact imply design?
Let’s use the example of a watch.
Suppose for whatever reason you were not aware of the existence of other humans or factories or any methods known to create watches. Perhaps this could be the result ...
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In traditional philosophy, what is the opposite to "Intelligent Design theory"?
My concern is that almost no intelligent and logical person would argue for a pure naturalism of this world.
At the same time, a large portion of these intelligent people would deny "Intelligent ...
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Do all design arguments for god ultimately suffer from circularity?
The design argument when it comes to the adaptations that organisms have stems from “These features look like something God would want to design and seem improbable under naturalism” to “God must have ...
user62907
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Is design harder to rule out than the lack of it? [closed]
This is something that I was thinking of recently that seems to give an almost apriori advantage to design believers and wanted to know if there’s a fallacy here or if this is sound.
Suppose that one ...