Is design just evolution v2?

Question

Think about how human beings design something: We have lots of different ideas (variation). We decide between them on the basis of which we think will be the most successful or satisfying (selection). We create things of gradually increasing complexity, building on what went before.

This is exactly how evolution works, except that in the case of intelligent design we can anticipate and work towards a goal, thus greatly accelerating the process. Intelligent design is a powerful new form of evolution.

This explains why people think that life exhibits intelligent design - Not because life is actually the product of intelligence, but because intelligent design means just doing what evolution has always done, but better and faster. We should recognise the signs of evolution in design, not design in evolution.

Does this make sense?

That's 'intelligent design' in the sense of humans designing things, not the 'ID' that is just Creationism in thin disguise.

maggielynn: Exactly, thank you for putting it better than I did :-)

Answer 1

Yes. I have thought about this also. The way that we think as humans is a product of evolution. Therefore our way of logic and understanding reflects the process the evolution. I wish some of the strong believers in ID would really look at this closely.

In our own self-made "evolution" using things we can manipulate in the world, we work toward what satisies us. Evolution as a natural process works in a much larger expanse of time than any generation(s) of people.

Answer 2

Hi Icarus

I don't believe humans intelligently created themselves. I'm not seeing how your definition deals with the issue of First Cause.

Increasing complexity requires increasing amounts of information, coded in the DNA. Where does the additional information come from that's required to change simple life forms into complex ones?

Natural selection can only account for the survival of the fittest; it fails to explain the arrival of the fittest. Natural selection helps to preserve a species; It does not create a new life form.

Mutation is not a positive force either. A mutation is a genetic copying error, a birth defect. When was the last time you saw a person with a birth defect, and that defect gave that person an advantage, one that would be favored by natural selection? Mutations are harmful, not helpful, to organisms.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Origins is an important matter. Our ideas about where we came from are crucial to how we think about ourselves. Are we a special creation of God, with purpose and meaning? Or are we the product of time and chance, without value or meaning or purpose?

Answer 3

Intelligent design is Genesis Jr. The other presumption is that humans are the ultimate product of the "intelligent design". Arguendo, say we were a product of intelligent design, what makes the adherents to this model presume humans are the ultimate product. our backs aren't adequately designed for upright walking (ask anyone with herniated discs), humans are prone to disease, have relatively high mortality rates, prone to violence, etc. It is only vanity that would make one think we are the finished product of an intelligent designer and they certainly could have done a better job than this, making a number of dead end hominid species (neanderthals) that didn't make the final cut.

Answer 4

In a way. Dog breeds are definitely the product of intelligent use of evolution as are all domestic animals. However the them "design" is still a bit strong in these cases. The closest we have is in genetically modified plants where scientist have actually modified particular genes.

Where ID falls down is where it posits a pre-human intelligence. Lions may have made gazelles faster but it was certainly not by design nor was it a product of any intelligence.

Answer 5

The only problem is that intelligent design (ID) is specifically created to counter the fact of evolution and the theory of Darwin conerning it. It denies the benefits of randomness and is also NOT science.

As for explaining why "people think life exhibits intelligent design". The truth is that they think that because
A. They are uneducated about the complexities of Evolutionary Theory
B. They have a political agenda.

Answer 6

I guess you don't see your problem. Yes, we can build upon ideas, but how does evolution build? Is evolution capable of intellectual thought and ingenuity? And how do you account for design given evolutionary theory?

Though ID has its own set of problems, naturalistic/materialistic worldviews do not comport with science.

Answer 7

We do evolve. But we evolve to stay alive because we are in a sin filled world. Evolution was not the creating process.

Answer 8

100%
ID is a good compromise in a discussion though, as long as it isn't taught in school.

Answer 9

Not really.

Answer 10

Evolution is false my retarded hamster friend