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Is ID getting anywhere?

July 15, 2008 · 2 Comments

In an article on the blog Uncommon Descent (Is ID getting anywhere? Three thoughts, and a suggestion, and other news) ID apologist Denyse O’leary asks this question. From her post I imagine she must accept that, from a scientific perspective, the answer is a resounding no.

The only successes she can claim are:

  • Google hits for the term “intelligent design.”
  • Criticism of attempts to introduce ID into school science classes.
  • Articles by science writers which point out that new discoveries embarrass the ID people.

Notice that there is a complete absence in her lists of scientific research or discoveries which support ID ideas.

Yet she has the gall to characterise the recent workshop at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for theoretical biology in Altenberg, Austria, (”Towards an extended evolutionary synthesis” ) as an attempt to “decide how they can save their exploded idea.”

One of the organisers of this meeting, Massimo Pigliucci, describes the workshop’s purpose in his article Is there fundamental scientific disagreement about evolutionary theory? He has also posted raw notes from the workshop (Notes from Altenberg, part I, Notes from Altenberg, part II and Notes from Altenberg, part III). Anyone genuinely interested in new developments in evolutionary science will find these very interesting.

It’s amazing how the opponents of science can paint new discoveries and scientific discussions as “exploded ideas” while at the same time attempting to advance naive ideas of their own for which their is no evidence – not even a research programme.

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2 responses so far ↓

  • Ubiquitous Che // July 15, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    To throw in another reference on the subject, PZ Myers and Abbie Smith mention the seminar in the beggining of their talk at the link below:

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/333588230/abbie_and_pz_on_tv.php

    Apparently the ID people are jumping up and down about something called epigenetics and how it explodes the theory of evolution. According to Abbie, epigentics isn’t magic – it’s just new, and to my knowledge the KLI meeting is partly going to be about refining the existing ideas such that they can incorporate the new data.

  • Ken // July 16, 2008 at 12:50 pm

    Yes, I have listened to the Myers/Smith discussion and found their comments on epigenesis very interesting. It’s a fascinating area of modern evolutionary science.
    I think Mat Ridley more or less discusses these sort of things in his book Nature via Nurture.

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