Is Intelligent Design Science?

The core issue in the debate over Intelligent Design is whether the theory is a scientific theory or a philosophical one.

One of the distinguishing features of Science is the scientific method. In a nutshell, it consists of

1. Make an observation


2. Create a hypothesis to explain the observation


3. Make a prediction on the basis of your hypothesis


4. Test the prediction by experiment or further observation


5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory, prediction, and observation/experiment.

ID makes an observation. That is: "Some things are so complex that random chance doesn't seem to explain them. Therefore, a designer is a more likely explanation."

Now, to determine if ID is science, we should ask ourselves: What hypotheses can we put forth from this observation that would allow us to make testable predictions? What experiments could prove or disprove our hypotheses? Think about it, and please let me know what you come up with.

Another way we might determine if a theory is science is to look at the published works by its proponents. Are they publishing works that are accepted by the scientific community? Some earlier posts have dealt with this, and the answer is no.

I will post more on this subject later.

Tags:

• intelligentdesign
• science
• thinking