Posted on 10/01/2006 4:18:53 PM PDT by RussP
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The notion that Intelligent Design theory is fundamentally "unscientific" is based on the philosophy originated by Karl Popper (1902-1994), who postulated a set of rules for science known as "Falsificationism." The main idea is that a hypothesis or theory does not qualify as "scientific" unless it is "falsifiable" (which is independent of whether it is actually "true" or "false"). Popper is revered by evolutionists, but certainly even they would agree that we should not blindly accept his word as revealed truth. So let us consider some of the implications of his "falsifiability" criterion.
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The ultimate irony here is that, given Popper's definition of science, the Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution itself is based on an "unscientific" foundation. How did the first living cell come to be? If Intelligent Design is categorically rejected, then that first cell must have come together more or less by random chance. Mathematicians and physicists have argued (and claim to have proved) that the simplest conceivable living cell is far too complex to have come together by random chance, but evolutionists always reply that, given enough time and space, "anything" can happen. In this case, the evolutionists are correct: proving that the first cell could not have formed by random chance is impossible. But that is just another way of saying that any purely naturalistic theory of abiogenesis is unfalsifiable, hence "unscientific" according to Popper's falsifiability criterion. [When cornered with this undeniable fact, evolutionists usually claim that abiogenesis is "separate" from evolution. But that's not quite true: evolution depends on abiogenesis. Evolution obviously could not have occurred if the first living cell had never come into existence!]
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(Excerpt) Read more at russp.org ...
Excuse me, but all theories are incomplete, to only point out evolution is political, not scientific.
To point out evolution selectively as the only theory that is incomplete, is nothing more then kissing up to the religious fundametalists, and giving them more power to attempt to ram their religious beliefs into a science classroom.
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Yes, you would not want to become collateral damage would you, victims of collateral damage are statistics, and I know that I would never want to be a statistic.
Science should not be a compromising enterprise. A systematic study of nature should not be negotiating its results, never mind with what class of people.
Oversimplification, with many unproven assumptions.
Nice try, though.
(Ignorance as a non-perjorative, by the way...)
Cheers!
It was a joke, humor?
Many of us Evilutionists do have a sense of humor, and will let it slip into these discussions now and again.
I recall the old Mad Magazine cartoon with the know-it-all elderly priest with a finger in the air, saying to a disgruntled teen, "And always remember that God loves you."
To which the teen retorts: "Imagine what it would be like if He hated me."
Full Disclosure: It looked like flame bait, intending to get a bunch of responses along the lines of "Burn in Hell, Sinner!"
If you want to help elevate the discourse, starting like that isn't always the best move.
Cheers!
Off topic. Not here.
Why? Simply because you don't like what he did? Or becasue you think you could do a better job?
Anyone who knew as much as a entity intelligent and powerful enough to create an entire universe and the life in it, would then be in a position to critique it.
As it is, how can beings as limited in perspective and knowledge as humans are, even think they can come close to knowing enough to understand why things were created they way they were?
I see what you mean, see, post 70. LOL
Oh well, can't expect everyone to have a sense of humor.
Much of what we surmise about 4.5 billions of years ago requires rational/logical deductions.
As both sides worry about the past, the present is passing you by.
The argument from design is not a theological argument, because we aren't necessarily talking about God. But any rebuttal of the design argument is theological, because it requires us to say "God wouldn't do it this way", and this is not legitimate."The Quixotic Message", or "No Free Hunch"
I just get tired of provocations to flame wars on both sides.
Cheers!
May or may not be legitimate, but (as so many point out on these threads) it sure isn't science!
Otherwise, we agree completely on this.
Cheers!
Of course the study of biological processes can proceed without a theory of origins; even so, but that life originated independent of biological processes
Why is it like that?
isn't exactly what textbooks are in the business of saying.
IOW, if you, js1138, and this new cracker think it don't matter, why does it matter so much for the biology curriculum?
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