Discovery Institute's Blog, page 58

Intelligent Design and Human Exceptionalism

Does an understanding of humankind's unique dignity and worth depend on religious arguments and religious faith? Our friend and colleague Wesley Smith forcefully argues no -- and I agree with him. He makes the secular case for human exceptionalism in a concise podcast, "More Than in God's Image," based on a rational surveying of mankind's gifts that distinguish us from all other known life.

Wesley, however, if I understand correctly, says mankind's unique endowments argue for human exception...

In the Beginning: Male and Female

Editor's note: Physicians have a special place among the thinkers who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar with the challenges of maintaining a functioning complex system, the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News is delighted to offer this series, "The Designed Body." For the complete series, see here. Dr. Glicksman practices palliative medicine for a hospice organization.

Everyone knows tha...

For Physicians, "Studied Neutrality" on Assisted Suicide Is a Cop Out

For years -- decades, actually -- euthanasia forces have tried to take MD opposition off the table by convincing major medical associations to adopt a position of "studied neutrality." Studied neutrality? What does that mean: We're going to pay careful attention to the issue and express no opinion?

Now, the American Medical Association, heretofore an implacable opponent of assisted suicide, is apparently going to "restudy" the issue. From the Right to Life News Today story:

At its annual mee...

Fellow Atheist Dismayed at A.C. Grayling's Debate Performance Versus Rabbi Rowe

I wanted to second Dr. Michael Egnor's recommendation of the Rowe-Grayling debate. As Egnor puts it, "Rowe devastated Grayling." If you don't care to take our word for it, read the post by Dr. Grayling's fellow atheist Jerry Coyne, "Anthony Grayling vs. Rabbi Rowe on God's existence."

It must come as a disappointment that the young rabbi and former tank driver with the Israel Defense Force got the better of the distinguished philosopher and "fifth horseman of atheism." And indeed Coyne's re...

For Bees, Static Electricity Is Information

Three years ago, we reported on the "shocking" discovery that flowers decorate their petals with negative charges that bumblebees can detect. The patterns of charge are species-specific, as if to tell the positively charged insects to come on in for a treat. At the time, the methods bees use to detect the charges were unknown, but the news created quite a buzz in the media (see National Geographic). Now, the organs of electrical sensing in insects are coming to light.

In a recent open-access...

In an Evolutionary Transition from Sea to Land, the Real Challenge May Be "Drying Out"

Researchers at the University of New South Wales have published in the journal Evolution, documenting something we kind of already knew: some fish can spend considerable time out of water, not only surviving but thriving ("Repeated evolution of amphibious behavior in fish and its implications for the colonisation of novel environments").

The interest is supposed to lie in demonstrating the ease with which sea dwellers could have made the evolutionary transition to land, with the burden of b...

The Rowe-Grayling Debate

Rabbi Daniel Rowe and atheist philosopher A.C. Grayling recently had a debate, "The God Debate," sponsored by J-TV: The Global Jewish Channel. It is a fine prcis -- an archetype of sorts -- of the grander debate about the existence of God.

In his opening statement, Grayling begins by quibbling over terms -- what to call himself (he prefers naturalist to atheist, but he is concerned that people might conflate this with nudism) -- and he complains that "The concept of the deity is extremely il...

From Political Scientist Jeff Sadow, Here's Straight Talk on the Louisiana Science Education Act

It's rare for the media to offer a fair view of academic freedom legislation, in any state. But then along comes The Advocate in Baton Rouge, LA, with a hard-hitting piece by Professor Jeff Sadow that does just that ("Science law prompts 'cottage industry' of liberal hysteria over creationism").

He reflects on the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA) and looks ahead to the upcoming science standards review. Sadow is in a position to know what he's talking about. He teaches political scienc...

The Challenge of Adaptational Packages

Editor's note: William Dembski and Jonathan Wells, leading figures in the intelligent design movement, are co-authors of The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems. Originally published by the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, this path-breaking work explores some of the most important arguments for intelligent design in biology. To celebrate the launch of Foundation for Thought & Ethics Books as an imprint of Discovery Institute Press, we will be publishing...

Past Alien Civilizations Thesis Takes Another Blow

Writing at Forbes, astrophysicist Ethan Siegel delivers another hammer blow to Adam Frank's past alien civilizations thesis ("Humanity May Be Alone In The Universe"). Interestingly he does so on identical grounds to those cited by Ross Anderson at The Atlantic (noted here yesterday). The New York Times also comes in for implied criticism for pursuing this particular angle -- that the universe has hosted intelligent ETs, so we're nothing special -- in the larger campaign against human excepti...