Atheist Philosopher Bradley Monton Defends Intelligent Design Theory

Dr Bradley Monton is a philosopher of science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has specialised in the philosophy of physics and the anthropic fine tuning argument. Prof. Monton thinks that Intelligent Design theory is science, and that its arguments have some force, although he is more impressed with ID arguments in physics than in biology. He is also an atheist.

You can find Prof. Monton's Blog here, and his website here - including a link to his paper 'Is Intelligent Design Sience? Dissecting the Dover Decision'

Listen to Monton's controversial lecture defending the scientific status of ID: 'An atheist defends intelligent design'. And then read Monton's blog entry on ‘An amazing display of lack of scholarship and intellectual rigor’ displayed by a lecture given in response.

Monton recently took part in a series of audio interviews with Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute Centre for Science (with thanks to O'Leary):

Part One

This episode of ID the Future features part one of Casey Luskin’s interview with atheist philosopher of science Bradley Monton. Prof. Monton has a unique perspective of the debate over intelligent design as an atheist who is trying to elevate the debate.

Part Two

This episode features the second part of Casey Luskin’s interview with atheist philosopher of science Bradley Monton. Prof. Monton shares his experience in the debate over intelligent design and discusses the Dover decision, rebutting trial witness philosopher Robert Pennock. In 2006, Monton authored a paper on Judge Jones’ Kitzmiller ruling, “Is Intelligent Design Science? Dissecting the Dover Decision.”

Part Three

Casey Luskin continues his interview with atheist philosopher of science Bradley Monton. Professor Monton discusses his role in “The Great Debate on Intelligent Design”. Interestingly, the two presenters on the pro-ID side, including Prof. Monton, were non-theists. Prof. Monton shows that the debate over intelligent design is far more nuanced than most portray it.

Part Four

Monton turns the tables on Casey Luskin, putting the question to him about the Dover trial. What is the story of Discovery Institute’s involvement in that infamous case? Listen in as Professor Monton asks good questions and gets good answers.

Part Five

Professor Monton’s perspective enriches and expands the debate over intelligent design, as he discusses whether an ID proponent can be an atheist, the scientific evidence for intelligent design, and the importance of the argument from cosmology. Professor Monton also shares his experience dealing with Robert Pennock, a Darwinist philosopher of science who had an interesting response when Monton published a paper on the Dover decision, critiquing Pennock. Monton breaks this story for the first time in this interview, but the full tale is told in his forthcoming book, Seeking God in Science: An Atheist Defends Intelligent Design, (Broadview Press, 2009).

What in the world is the philosophy of physics?

From Wikipedia :

In philosophy, the philosophy of physics studies the fundamental philosophical questions underlying modern physics, the study of matter and energy and how they interact. The philosophy of physics begins by reflecting on the basic metaphysical and epistemological questions posed by physics: causality, determinism, and the nature of physical law. It then turns to questions raised by important topics in contemporary physics:

* Physical cosmology: space, time, the origin and ultimate fate of the universe;

* Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics: energy, work, randomness, information;

* Quantum mechanics: the rival interpretations thereof, and its counterintuitive conclusions.

Centuries ago, the study of causality, and of the fundamental nature of space, time, matter, and the universe were part of metaphysics. Today the philosophy of physics is essentially a part of the philosophy of science.

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