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Opinion

Intelligent design: stupid idea

By Scott T. Hards


「知的設計者」は存在するのだろうか?

科学技術の最先端を行くアメリカで、反進化論的な「知的設計」論が台頭しているのは、批判的な思考法が停止してしまったからなのだろうか。

Surveys indicate that in the United States, a country that is supposedly a world leader in science and technology, more people now believe in creation than evolution. In an attempt to get this thinking taught in public schools, some groups are repackaging their belief that a supreme being created life on Earth under the non-religious moniker "intelligent design."

The origin of the debate lies, of course, in Genesis, the opening passages of the Bible, which describe how God created life. Though the Bible itself is a haphazard collection of arbitrarily selected and often mistranslated pieces, many religious people choose to ignore hundreds of years of careful scientific study and instead believe its words literally. I am not among their number.

While it may be impossible to prove that evolution is a fact, it is supported by enormous amounts of evidence. Intelligent design, on the other hand, has no body of learning to support it whatsoever. But that's not the only reason I believe it's a wrong-headed idea. Let me share some of the other problems intelligent design presents:

The design is not intelligent: Our bodies, and those of animals, are filled with examples of designs that are inefficient or irrational. Have you ever choked on food or drink? Everyone has. That's because the entrance to your lungs and stomach share the same pipe. Bad design. Some people are killed choking on food because of it. If we were designed, why not give us two pipes?

So the concept of intelligent design makes God into a prankster: If God (or some other intelligence) in fact created all life, why leave suggestions to the contrary all over the place? Is He trying to fool us? Similarities in animal species alive now, and in the fossil record, all present powerful evidence that evolution took place.

God gave us brains for a reason: If our design is intelligent, then certainly our brains are part of that design. So why not use them? Hundreds of years of humans doing just that have given us the incredible technology and learning we enjoy today. So why stop using critical thinking when it comes to the origins of life?

If a car salesman told you the tiny hatchback in front of you actually had a Ferrari engine, you would probably look under the hood yourself before believing it. That's the sort of intellectual process we use every day to lead our lives successfully. So why do people stop thinking like that, and just believe, when it comes to religion? I see so much hate and strife in this world caused because people blindly trust what someone said or wrote instead of drawing their own conclusions.

In the past, articles I've written for this column, which touched on religious themes, have attracted many comments from readers who disagree with me. I'd love to hear from you this time, too. Send your messages to shukanst@mac.com. I'll share and reply to thoughtful comments in my next column.

(498 words)


Discussion: Consider some of the ways your beliefs conflict with sciencce. What sorts of things do you believe without confirming them yourself?



Shukan ST: Oct. 21, 2005

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