From “Talk Reason” and Michael Luciano I became aware of how the Discovery Institute (DI) -one of the most visible Intelligent Design (ID) think tanks and propaganda machine, defines Intelligent Design. The Discovery Institute and other ID proponents have been trying to persuade us that ID is really a scientific theory -nevermind they make no testable predictions and only rely on negative evidence. Instead of tackling this claim (which has been discarded a million times before) Luciano pretty much lets the DI “scientists” demolish it themselves!

Luciano strongly criticizes the DI by pointing out the various flaws in their reasoning, assumptions, and misunderstanding of basic evolutionary tenets. However, I will only focus on one fundamental element. This is how the Discovery Institute defines Intelligent Design:

Intelligent design refers to a scientific research program as well as a community of scientists, philosophers and other scholars who seek evidence of design in nature. [emphasis mine]

And as Luciano observes, this is already the end of the story. Have a good day^*.

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Footnotes:

1. * Trying to find evidence for your predetermined conclusion is not science. Ignoring existing science and/or data that do not fit this conclusion, is not science. Making the existence of a designer the default position without a hint of evidence is not science. Intelligent Design is not science. Read Luciano’s article for a thorough demolition. [↩]