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Bad thing Quote by William A. Dembski

“To establish evolutionary interrelatedness invariably requires exhibiting similarities between organisms. Within Darwinism, there's only one way to connect such similarities, and that's through descent with modification driven by the Darwinian mechanism. But within a design-theoretic framework…” quote by William A. Dembski
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““To establish evolutionary interrelatedness invariably requires exhibiting similarities between organisms. Within Darwinism, there's only one way to connect such similarities, and that's through descent with modification driven by the Darwinian mechanism. But within a design-theoretic framework, this possibility, though not precluded, is also not the only game in town. It's possible for descent with modification instead to be driven by telic processes inherent in nature (and thus by a form of design). Alternatively, it's possible that the similarities are not due to descent at all but result from a similarity of conception, just as designed objects like your TV, radio, and computer share common components because designers frequently recycle ideas and parts. Teasing apart the effects of intelligent and natural causation is one of the key questions confronting a design-theoretic research program. Unlike Darwinism, therefore, intelligent design has no immediate and easy answer to the question of common descent. Darwinists necessarily see this as a bad thing and as a regression to ignorance. From the design theorists' perspective, however, frank admissions of ignorance are much to be preferred to overconfident claims to knowledge that in the end cannot be adequately justified. Despite advertisements to the contrary, science is not a juggernaut that relentlessly pushes back the frontiers of knowledge. Rather, science is an interconnected web of theoretical and factual claims about the world that are constantly being revised and for which changes in one portion of the web can induce radical changes in another. In particular, science regularly confronts the problem of having to retract claims that it once confidently asserted.””

William A. Dembski

About This Quote

Source Book: The Design Revolution by William A. Dembski, 2004

Design and evolution both explain similarities, but design allows multiple mechanisms beyond descent.

In simple terms: Design offers alternative explanations for similarity.

Key Takeaway

Consider multiple explanations for observed patterns.

Themes

science philosophy evolution design

Mood

analytical critical inquisitive

Type

academic philosophical controversial

When to use this quote

  • research debates
  • educational curricula
  • public policy

Key Concepts

descent with modification telic processes intelligent design

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do we evaluate competing scientific explanations?
  • What role should humility play in scientific claims?
A Different Perspective

Design explanations can be less testable than evolutionary ones.

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