Re: [asa] Review of Behe in Books and Culture

As I see it, a main difference (apart from some nastiness in which Behe
doesn't take part) is the claim that design can be detected through
science. TE recognizes that the process is guided. One has to be a deist
or atheist to argue that it is unguided. Even process theology has the
god portion trying to persuade the attached "matter" to move in the right
direction.

It is obvious that we fit this part of the universe. Ask a scientist
"Why?" and the answer has to be nescience. The best a scientist can do is
recognize that, were the earth not as it is, we wouldn't be around to
ask, at least not in this guise. Of course, there could be other,
different intelligent beings produced under different circumstances who
could ask the same question.

If one begins with the theological/philosophical doctrine that there is a
Creator, they can invoke the anthropic principle and cite Psalm 19. But
there is no scientific "proof" of God's existence, or scientific
measurement of his involvement.
Dave (ASA)

On Mon, 9 Jul 2007 16:35:06 -0500 "David Campbell" <pleuronaia@gmail.com>
writes:
> > I gather, then, that Behe is making a meta-argument about the role
> of
> > "chance" in evolution. How different is Behe's position on this
> than, say,
> > that of Simon Conway Morris, or even in some respects that of
> Francis
> > Collins? It sees that Behe is further away from the Uncommon
> Descent crowd than he is from Francis Collins. <
>
>
> My impression is that one difference between Behe's approach and
> Conway Morris or Collins is that Behe has apparently cast his lot
> with
> the Uncommon Descent, Discovery Institute, etc. crowd despite his
> many
> scientific disagreements.
>
> Behe also invokes intervention-style action in the course of
> creation,
> claiming that there are scientifically detected gaps that evolution
> can't bridge. Although he's much more restrictive in the roles he
> gives them than Wells, etc., he still agrees with them against
> Denton,
> Collins, etc. that such gaps are expected and detected.
>
> --
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
>
> To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
> "unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
>
>

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Mon Jul 9 19:49:03 2007