Hi Howard (all),
H.V.T.>> So, ID (which, presumably, is implied by the presence of IC) is
not really
about "design" but about the manner in which something is "built" or
assembled? <<
Troy:
It is a curious thing that Behe's principle of IC as an argument for design
turns traditional arguments from design on their heads. No longer are those
features of organisms that seem perfectly "sculpted" to suit their needs
necessarily evidence for design. No longer are the features of organisms
which are well designed from a engineering POV necessarily evidence for
design.
Nelson:
Yes it is actually, that is what ICness is all about. That is why
"well-matched" and "interactive" are key words here. They are called
"molecular machines" and the F-ATPase motor even runs at near 100% effiency.
This is Paley through and through. The concept of irreducible complexity can
be seen in it's roots:
"To maintain a constant internal environment requires control mechanisms:
sensors, effectors, information processing and feedback systems. These terms
were imported into the language of twentieth century physiology from control
engineering in the 1940s - but they do not belong in the language of physics
(or, indeed, of nineteenth century physiology). They are not, ipso facto,
compatible with a mechanistic materialist perspective, according to which
the (physiological) whole is nothing but the sum of its parts." - Agutter,
PS, Malone, PC, Wheatley, DN. 2000. Diffusion theory in biology: a relic of
mechanistic materialism. J. Hist. Bio. 33: 71-111.
The stator, the rotor, the propellar in the flagllum look very much
man-made. As well as the "railroad" tracks made up of microtubules and
kinesin churn like steam engines.
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