Re: [asa] EU proposed regulation of creationism and ID

First, why should anyone have to explain to you that intelligence is a
necessary condition for understanding? The lesser intelligence of a chimp
requires that it understand less. The lack of intelligence in a computer,
no matter how sophisticated, means that it understands nothing, though it
may arrange information so that it is meaningful to us. Second, do you
want a metaphysical/theological answer to your second question, or a
scientific answer? The former is that Nature was created. The latter is
that function, however produced, is understood by reason. Were there no
function, there would be no life, no evolution. For the third, the one
answer is that it is the gift of the Creator, or that it is what
developed in hominids that enabled them to deal more effectively with
their environment, and it has other additional benefits. These are not
mutually exclusive explanations, for the latter may be viewed as the
Creator's process. The last question should obviously have been
recognized as nonsense, for it demands a metaphysical/theological
nonempirical answer produced by empirical science.

No wonder Pim asked "Seriously?" How can anyone be serious about silly
and impossible questions?
Dave (ASA)

On Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:05:08 -0400 "Alexanian, Moorad"
<alexanian@uncw.edu> writes:
> Why is intelligence necessary in order to understand the working of
> Nature? How come rationality in the workings of Nature? What is the
> origin of rationality? If evolutionary theory tells how we came to
> be, why is it that it cannot tell us who and what we are?
>
>
> Moorad
>

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Received on Sat Sep 22 23:50:25 2007