A missing theistic link
William Saletan spins a hell of a fossil record metaphor in his description of the evolution of Intelligent Design theory:
Like its creationist forebears, ID is theistic. But unlike them, it abandons Biblical literalism, embraces open-minded inquiry, and accepts falsification, not authority, as the ultimate test. These concessions, sincere or not, define a new species of creationism—Homo sapiens—that fatally undermines its ancestors. Creationists aren't threatening us. They're becoming us.I wish I'd written that.
posted by Luke @ 9:03 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
It's too bad, however, that Saletin blows his entire article in the last paragraph:
"It's too bad liberals and scientists don't welcome this test. It's too bad they go around sneering, as censors of science often have, that the new theory is too radical, offensive, or embarrassing to be taken seriously. It's too bad they think good science consists of believing the right things. In the long view—the evolutionary view—good science consists of using evidence and experiment to find out whether what we thought was right is wrong. If they do that in Kansas, by whatever name, that's all that matters."
He might spin a good metaphor but he sure as hell doesn't get the issue.
He accepts on it's face the utterly disingenuous claim by New IDers that ID would "define science as a continuous process of 'observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena.' "
Problem being, they are just rewording the existing scientific method, which has been followed since before Darwin in paleantology, biology, geology, genomics and the like. Claiming that this is what ID desires, is implying that the scientific method doesn't currently exist, and that ID can provide it.
It's strange that IDers are spewing this from one side of their mouths while on the other side positing something that can not be put to the same tests, a specifically non-falsifiable hypothesis:
"ID proposes nothing more than that life and its diversity were the product of an intelligence with power to manipulate matter and energy."
This from the same guy who re-worded the scientific method just two paragraphs previous.
It's not that the "new theory is too radical, offensive, or embarrassing to be taken seriously" by science.
It's simply not scientific, and no amount of public hearings or appearances on Nightline will make it so.
Apropos the "controversy", below Saletin's article is an ad touting "scientific evidence of Creation" that has "never been refuted!"
Would Saletin get the irony of that statement?
( /rant )
Huh. I kept referring to Saletan as "Saletin". woops.
Yeah, it's a shame that people feel the need to court these weirdos now that getting religion is fashionable in liberal circles [Saletan is both a liberal and seems to have at least a good lay understanding of evolution] and that, in typical spineless fashion, lacks the balls to just say it's a fucking preposterous idea.
I think it's good that liberals are publically voicing and paying homage to their faith as a way of counteracting the dangerous hate-religion of the right. As Jim Wallis is fond of saying [paraphrase], In place of bad religion people don't want no religion, they want good religion.
But the whole ID stance, since 'evolving' from creationism, is that whatever designer there is exists outside of religious constructs. Put differently, we don't know if this place was built by a jewish carpenter or from the body of an axe-wielding god-child imprisoned in a giant egg.
Hense, this time it's really not about religion [even though it is], and we should stop paying deference to these people's beliefs and focusing on their science [which is shit].
Best regards from NY!
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