Artist's impression of exoplanet orbiting two stars
An exoplanet (artist's rendering), by ESA/Hubble [CC BY 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.
Exoplanets and the Fermi Paradox
We are living during a golden age of discovery in astronomy. Arguably, it began with the dawning of the space age in 1957. By 1989 our probes had visited every planet in the Solar System (in 2015 New Horizons visited the former planet Pluto). Then, in 1995 we discovered the first planet around another star (an exoplanet). Read More ›
Theistic Evolution
Faith & Science, Intelligent Design
Defining Theistic Evolution
In this introduction to the book Theistic Evolution, Stephen Meyer explains what is meant by the term "evolution" and the term "theistic evolution." He also previews each essay in the volume and explains briefly where the theistic evolutionary perspective falls short. Read More ›
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Asking for assistance, optimism and survivor desperation to contact the world conceptual idea with a message in a glass bottle with a cork washing away on sandy beach with the ocean in the background
A Slightly Technical Introduction to Intelligent Design
Intelligent design — often called "ID" — is a scientific theory that holds that the emergence of some features of the universe and living things is best explained by an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection. ID theorists argue that design can be inferred by studying the informational properties of natural objects to determine if they bear the type of information that in our experience arises from an intelligent cause. Proponents of neo-Darwinian evolution contend that the information in life arose via purposeless, blind, and unguided processes. ID proponents argue that this information arose via purposeful, intelligently guided processes. Both claims are scientifically testable using the standard methods of science. But ID theorists say that when we use the scientific method to explore nature, the evidence points away from unguided material causes, and reveals intelligent design. Read More ›
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Intelligent Design: A Brief Introduction
Intelligent design (ID) studies patterns in nature that are best explained as the result of intelligence. Is that radio signal from outer space just random noise or the result of an alien intelligence? Is that chunk of rock just a random chunk of rock or an arrowhead? Is Mount Rushmore the result of wind and erosion or the creative act Read More ›
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The Truth About Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture
Misinformation and mischaracterization are rampant in the media coverage of the debate over evolution. Because Discovery Institute's views and positions recently have been inaccurately reported, and because Discovery Fellows have been maligned in the media in the past, over the past few years we have published a number of Truth Sheets to set the record straight. Read More ›
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Not By Chance
In December 2004, a renowned British philosopher, Antony Flew, made worldwide news when he repudiated a lifelong commitment to atheism, citing among other factors, evidence of intelligent design in the DNA molecule. In December, the ACLU filed suit to prevent a Dover, Penn. school district from informing its students about the theory of intelligent design. And in February, The Wall Street Journal reported that an evolutionary biologist with two doctorates had been punished for publishing a peer-reviewed scientific article making a case for this same theory. More recently, the Pope, the President of the United States and the Dalai Lama have each weighed in on the subject. But what is this theory of intelligent design? And why does it arouse such passion and inspire such apparently determined efforts to suppress it? Read More ›
Molecular Machines
This article presents an overview of the key ideas in biochemist Michael Behe's book Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. A more detailed discussion of these ideas can be found in the book itself. Those interested in the debate over intelligent design in biology should also check out Michael Behe's extensive responses to various critics. Read More ›