RE: Icons of Evolution

From: Hofmann, Jim (jhofmann@exchange.fullerton.edu)
Date: Sat Jun 09 2001 - 12:28:27 EDT

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    Peter Ruest wrote (in part):

    "I don't posit a god-of-the-gaps. In theory, "methodological naturalism"
      may be the ideal for both atheistic and theistic scientists (in their
      science). But in practice, atheists are much less likely to recognize
      and concede that the origin of life and macroevolution pose
      informational problems. How should one be able to ever find a scientific
      solution to these problems if one doesn't even acknowledge them as such?
      In this area, talking about "emergence", "self-organization", "hierarchy
      theory", "generation of information" and the like is just so much
      hand-waving. Dembski's filter and Behe's mousetrap may not be the proper
      way of doing it, but somehow we have to deal with the problem of
      information if darwinian evolution is not to be left dangling in the
      air."

    I think those who work on these problems, such as my colleague Bruce Weber,
    would disagree about this just being "so much hand-waving". There are a
    couple of interesting papers at entries 17.2 and 17.9 of our website below.

    Jim Hofmann
    Philosophy Department and Liberal Studies Program
    California State University Fullerton
    http://nsmserver2.fullerton.edu/departments/chemistry/evolution_creation/web



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