Intelligent Design or Religious Vomit?
Some school in Dover Pennsylvania has been in the news recently, because, next to the theory of evolution, they will start teaching a theory called ‘Intelligent Design’. This particular theory claims that, since the universe is so complex, it had to be created by an ‘unspecified’ guiding force. Adherents of this theory proclaim it is not really Creationism, just some kind of ’secular’ variant. I say it’s Creationism pur sang.
Just how do these people get intelligence from complexity? If the design of the universe was truly intelligent, it would more likely be less complex, not more. A brain gets it’s intelligence from the massive number of logical connections between individual brain-cells, not because of the concept of Complexity. Design holds a promise of reason, of a priori purpose or cause, and some kind of destination. Complexity, in itself, holds none of these. Complexity may at best be featured ‘by design’, intending to purposely conceal the true make-up of a design. It’s nothing to marvel at, it simply obfuscates.
To call everything outside the boundaries of human knowledge as somehow ‘designed’ fails to appreciate the ability to learn, it ultimately negates the notion of human freedom. We’ve seen this retreat into fatalism since prehistory. It’s an inherently negative outlook, not affirmative. It’s mind-boggling how intelligent people with a positive outlook on life keep defending these perverted theories.
I’ll have to ask my wife about this, she’s the expert on Complexity. I’m way out my league on this, having gotten only as far as Existentialism:-)
I wonder what came first, the stupidity to pick up a real book, and the creation of folklore to account for the unexplicable; or the realization that true science exposes the nakedness of folkloristic ideas and therefore banning all real books, forbidding your children to read them, consequently condemning them to stupidity. It’s a vicious cicle, exacerbating a retreat in human intelligence. Any religious revival, like the one going on in contemporary America is a sign of this. Antagonizing against Islam, that holds outright folkloristic ideas, is certainly not helping either. Religion is like a memetic Black Plague.
It’s a kind of new Contra-Reformation. Those defending the status-quo are using Big Media to distort, undermine or simply deny common knowledge. And religion is once again serving the old master, playing it’s part as opium for the people. Intelligent people demand freedom and participation, some would call it Democracy. But Democracy and Empire are incompatible.
