My Take on Creative Design
Lately there has been more and more press on something called Intelligent Design which is being offered up as an alternative theory to Darwinism in regards to how the existence of all the myriad forms of Life in the Universe (or maybe just our planet) came to be. This Intelligent Design theory attempts to show shows some sort of scientific evidence that things did not come about simply by means of an evolutionary process - that they (we) were actually designed by something with specific intelligence. So there is a debate here and you can read all about it online. There are these creationists who are trying to push the idea of intelligent design basically in order to establish their dogma as truth. I am not using dogma derogatorily here either. I am not suggesting that they are wrong. I am not suggesting that the Darwinists are wrong either! Frankly, I don’t know and I’m not sure that both theories, in the end, are not severely short sighted.
It may be that intelligence can be considered another force of nature, like gravity. It is the force that structures and organizes, life itself. Out of chaos comes order and communication. How? What is the cause of that? Can we call it Intelligence? Sure, I think so. But is that intelligence owned? Is it deliberate - does it have an agenda? No, I don’t think so. Just like I don’t think you would say that gravity has an agenda. So the function of intelligence may resemble evolution. Evolution and intelligence can be aspects of this force or field.
Any comments? I know Kage has some insight from the book, ‘Out of Control’ by Kevin Kelley. Come on Kage!
Frank Brideau said,
06.06.07 at 1:25 pm
I have recently published a book called Intelligent Design of Personality. In Intelligent Design of Personality I make, I believe, a strong and definitive case that Personality development is more a science then an art form.
In particular, as referenced against the characteristics of science accepted in U.S. law from the 1982 court decision, McLean vs Arkansas Board of Education, my theory of personality development justifies itself on all accounts.
The essential characteristics of science are:
1) It is guided by [physical or biological] law;
2) It has to be explanatory by reference to natural law;
3) It is testable against the empirical world;
4) Its conclusions are tentative, are not necessarily the final word; and
5) It is falsifiable[or, more accurately, makes predictions that can be tested by observation],
My theory in the text, Intelligent Design of Personality, first of all, uses Natural Law, those “unchanging moral principles common to all human beings” Oxford Dictionary, 1998, as it’s foundation. In the second instance, I use many natural biological processes of homeostasis, reflexes, imprinting and the “natural” Pleasure Selection Principle, all governed by Natural Law, to explain how organized, orderly and explicit the biological processes are at arriving at their objective, the production of a moral human being. Thirdly, I reveal, with many examples, how testable, predictable and definitive the theory is against the real or empirical world. In the final analysis, it is readily accepted that the theory is tentative, i.e., that it will be improved upon in the future and that it is falsifiable not only by observation but would stand the scrutiny of the laboratory on all accounts.
The Natural Personality theory, essentially, uses evolution as a stepping stone to the realization that there is order and organization laid upon the human spirit that far exceeds the relatively small and slow input of evolution. In essence, evolution is the track upon which the far superior human spirit engine runs, and the proof of this native morality in man is the real and present existence of Natural Law.
I believe the proponents of both evolution and intelligent design will find the text both informative, uplifting and restorative of faith in human dignity. You will be able to read more about the book at my website [www.intelligentdesignofpersonality.com].
Sincerely,
Frank Brideau
Frank Brideau said,
08.27.07 at 7:30 am
Beesuker,
You got it, the idea that there is an organizing force within the human organism - that may be called -intelligence - but that is not owned by either an outside force, a cultural God or Darwin - it just is. As far as I can see, Natural Law is , as you say - like gravity. It may appear to be a product of evolution but it, perhaps, is more fundamentally, a function of how matter interacts - like from the laws of chemistry, integrating with the laws of electricity, intergrating with the laws of biology, to produce Natural Law, those unchanging moral principles common to all (naturalized -my insert) human beings”.
The beautiful thing for me to discover is that morality- or purposeful living- comes from within the human organism itself. It is not imposed from without. Mankind - from all the tribes of the earth - I believe, composes these religions to help fill the vacuum in our knowledge gap about - best practice on living right - making good decisions about firstly, how to survive and, secondly, how to survive well (morally), from the bounty of natural thoughts, feelings and actions derived from a natural personality created from natural life. As we become more realistic about the world around us we will be able to develop more realistic religions. The change in the evolution of religions will attempt to keep pace with the fast pace of the accumulation of knowledge. Many of the current 2000 year old religions of the world are currently under review, as we battle for a more realistic, acceptable world view.
Frank Brideau