Darwinism or Intelligent Design

In the previous article I discussed Darwinism, its status as a theory and the way we have handled it as a theory. In this article I will discuss a theory which is in somewhat contrast with Darwinism, i.e. the theory of Intelligent Design. Let me first explain what the theory of intelligent design says. It simply asserts that life in the universe is so complex that it cannot have been the result of randomness. The complexity in the way life has been designed signifies the involvement of some intelligent being in its formation. The theory doesn’t go in the intricacies of this claim and doesn’t name that intelligent being. It doesn’t say that it was God or any thing about its attributes. May be, because, naming it God will make things a bit more complicated. I mean to say that, than, it has to explain the attributes of God which will open the door to the same questions that theology has been dealing with.



The proponents of intelligent design have been trying to make the theory popular by introducing it in the curriculum in some countries. I think that their stance is quite potent; if, Darwinism being a theory is taught to children in schools than why not Intelligent design. Why can’t Intelligent design be taught as a theory along with Darwinism. I once read an interview of a proponent of intelligent design and he gave a very interesting example. Imagine yourself strolling on a beach, you can clearly see the wavy patterns left by the ocean waves. But, if you come across a point where you see a heart shaped pattern with an arrow through it, you will easily conclude that this pattern cannot be the result of the ebb and flow of a wave. An intelligent person must have made this shape. Of course, one might argue that there is a miniscule probability that a wave might have left this pattern as well, but, only focusing on the wave’s involvement in producing this pattern and not considering the involvement of a prudent hand is not fair. If you are the person on the beach and some one argues with you that the wave left this ordered pattern and doesn’t consider the alternative, you will definitely call that person biased. This is what the scientific community is doing they are ignoring the possibility of an intelligent being’s involvement in our ordered creation and just focusing on the possibility of an evolutionary process.



I was introduced to the theory of intelligent design when there was a debate going in the US state of Kansas in 2005. In the result of which the board of education ordered teachers to tell their students that the theory of evolution is unproven and introduce them to the theory of intelligent design1. Many schools in America allow tutors to teach the theory of intelligent design as an alternative to Darwinism and this is a debate going on for a long time in the US. Some people in the US think that teaching intelligent design goes against the constitution which establishes the separation of church and state. I can’t understand that why don't they just accept that an intelligent being’s hand in our creation is a very logical conclusion to be drawn from the orderliness of creation. Why emphasize so much in keeping religion out of state matters to the extent of ignoring one of the very obvious things in our lives. I personally think that all the theories discussing the origins of human life should be discussed in schools all over the world. Children should not just be taught that we belong to some family of apes but also the possibility that God created us.

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1) "Evolution suffers Kansas setback", BBC news, Wednesday, 9 November 2005