Audiobook12 hours
Design Revolution: Answering the Toughest Questions About Intelligent Design
Written by William Dembski
Narrated by Grover Gardner
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
()
About this audiobook
Is it science? Is it religion? What exactly is the Design Revolution? // Today scientists, mathematicians and philosophers in the intelligent design movement are challenging a certain view of science--one that limits its investigations and procedures to purely law-like and mechanical explanations. They charge that there is no scientific reason to exclude the consideration of intelligence, agency and purpose from truly scientific research. In fact, they say, the practice of science often does already include these factors! // As the intelligent design movement has gained momentum, questions have naturally arisen to challenge its provocative claims. In this book William A. Dembski rises to the occasion clearly and concisely answering the most vexing questions posed to the intelligent design program. Writing with nonexperts in mind, Dembski responds to more than sixty questions asked by experts and nonexperts alike who have attended his many public lectures, as well as objections raised in written reviews. // The Design Revolution has begun. Its success depends on how well it answers the questions of its detractors. Read this book and you'll have a good idea of the prospects and challenges facing this revolution in scientific thinking.
Related to Design Revolution
Related audiobooks
The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith: Exploring the Ultimate Questions About Life and the Cosmos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition That Life Is Designed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fatal Flaws: What Evolutionists Don't Want You to Know Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In the Beginning There Was...Information Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview: 2nd Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atheism on Trial: Refuting the Modern Arguments Against God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Signposts to God: How Modern Physics and Astronomy Point the Way to Belief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darwin Devolves: The New Science About DNA That Challenges Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Genesis Enigma: Why the Bible is Scientifically Accurate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Does Evil Disprove God? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Born to Wonder: Exploring Our Deepest Questions-- Why Are We Here and Why Does It Matter? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God's Action in History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUniverse Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalogue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Introduction to Christianity and Science: Audio Lectures: 13 Lessons on the Critical Issues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Answers Science: From Origin to End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Shot of Faith (to the Head): Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God's Science: Biology, Genetics, and Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Know God Exists: Solid Reasons to Believe in God, Discover Truth, and Find Meaning in Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Theology and Science Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Purpose and Desire: What Makes Something "Alive" and Why Modern Darwinism Has Failed to Explain It Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Saving Truth: Finding Meaning and Clarity in a Post-Truth World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Are Science and Religion at War? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields and What's Behind It All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word: An Introduction to Classical Apologetics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Holy Bible in Audio - King James Version: The Complete Old & New Testament Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little Book of Letting Go Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better (updated with two new chapters) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership 25th Anniversary: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Return of the Gods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries in Marriage: Understanding the Choices That Make or Break Loving Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Switch on Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Divorce Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Than a Carpenter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Design Revolution
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
12 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Philosphical Answers to Scientific QuestionsI will try to consider this book both from the point of view of its importance to the active controversy of Intelligent Design (ID) and Darwinism, and of its success in presenting a convincing point of view. Dembski is one of the most important leaders in the ID movement at this time. As such, his books need to be read by anyone wanting to be knowledgable about the controversy. This is the fifth book on ID that I have read, and easily the most substantive. Compared to this, Phillip Johnson's Darwin on Trial is crude, although considerably more readable. Dembski's style is not excessively academic or jargon-laden; when reading philosophy, one must expect terms like "ontologically subjective." Dembski's style is still rather leaden: after struggling under the burden of it for 200 pages, I felt despair at realizing that there were still 125 pages of text to go. Dembski presents an elaborate philosophic justification for ID, confronting the arguments of many critics and including the ideas of many supporters. He also lays out both stringent standards to which ID supporters should hold themselves if they are to be taken seriously, a program of projects and a promotional strategy. Many ID supporters discuss a demonized form of Darwinism that makes it a scapegoat for all the discontents of modernity and materialism as if these were the sole invention of Charles Darwin and will disappear if his theory does. Dembski is quite honest in recognizing that these ideas pervade modern thought. Although I think he exaggerates the importance of Darwinism as a linchpin, he argues that once it is destroyed, a project of purging materialism and naturalism from all sciences and humanities is needed. The book consists of 44 questions about ID, organized into 6 parts. As such, there is a certain amount of repetition so that each discussion can mostly stand on its own; I did not find it excessive. Occasionally, for somewhat more complex issues, there are references to other chapters. Dembski is not always consistent: sometimes he recognizes the difference between an idea being not proven and proving that the idea is invalid. For example, he rightly argues that Darwinism cannot dismiss ID on the grounds that although they cannot explain something, they are confident that they can explain it in the future. On the other hand, he only intermittently concedes that this is not the same thing as proving that Darwinism will never be able to produce an explanation. At other points, he argues that he can positively prove that Darwinian explanations are impossible, without relying upon arguing from present failures. At some points, he concedes that ID must succeed on its positive merits, not merely by eliminating Darwinism, but in Chapter 36, "The only games in town", he seems to be asserting that it is one or the other, there are no other possibilities. In Chapter 29, he chides Howard Van Till for "playing the prophet" for predicting that materialism will be vindicated in the future, and then plays the prophet himself by predicting that it is ID that will triumph. There is a bibliography, but no notes. Some citations are given within the text, but these are usually general references to another text. Statements of fact are not supported by much documentation. The index is disappointing in that it only includes proper names. The arrangement of chapters by questions is some help in relocating information, but I would have preferred a more detailed index. ID makes its bid to be included in public school science curricula chiefly on two claims: first, that it is not tied to religious teachings, and secondly that it is in fact a science. I don't think that Dembski made good on either claim. One might argue that the inclusion of an introduction by the Christian activist Charles W. Colson might be explained by a desire to appeal to all sides of the ID/Darwinism controversy, and even seen as conciliatory. That does not explain why text explaining ID contains discussions of Christian theology at several points. Most strikingly, in Chapter 22, Varieties of Naturalism, Dembski devotes the most text to "antisupernaturalism naturalism" as expounded by David Ray Griffen, continuing with its relationship to process theology, and then rebukes it for "deeply unsatisfying theological implications". He then comments that "pragmatic naturalism" is compatible with Christianity. He apparently doesn't care how any form of naturalism may be compatible with any other religion. He is also less than fully frank about "the Wedge", mentioning only Phillip Johnson's book, but ignoring the Discovery Institute document known by that name that has been cited to argue that ID is in fact religiously motivated. He can disavow it if he likes, but it's an important question left unanswered. Dembski argues that ID can defeat Darwinism on scientic grounds, playing by the empirical rules of science. He argues that certain items in the universe possess an empirically detectable quality called "specified complexity". So where is the protocol for detecting it? He argues that the possession of specified complexity is a strong, even definitive argument for intelligent design. So who did this study, and where is its methodology published? Dembski seems to be claiming that these are currently available: does he mean that they are part of his program of aspirations? Specified complexity depends in part upon probability and I am somewhat skeptical of our ability to produce meaningful numbers for many cases. One cannot simply assume that the number of possibilities that occur if every quality could vary independent is the correct number: qualities may be interdependent. Then one must know how many potential values there are for each quality. If/then speculations are fine, but I am very skeptical of anyone who attempts to argue definitively, for example, that there is/is not life on other planets based on the single example of our world and our limited knowledge of other stellar systems. In sum, if one is interested in ID or the controversy, this is a significant book and should be considered. Personally, I'm impressed by his thoroughness and breadth of vision, but I'm not convinced either of ID's validity or its appropriateness to a public school SCIENCE classroom. For readers wanting critiques of Dembski, his prominence in the ID movement guarantees that most recent books will discuss him. I call the reader's attention to Mark Perakh's somewhat vituperous Unintelligent Design, the first section of which considers Dembski from the perspective of mathematics and information theory, rather than the usual perspectives of biology and general science.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Philosphical Answers to Scientific QuestionsI will try to consider this book both from the point of view of its importance to the active controversy of Intelligent Design (ID) and Darwinism, and of its success in presenting a convincing point of view. Dembski is one of the most important leaders in the ID movement at this time. As such, his books need to be read by anyone wanting to be knowledgable about the controversy. This is the fifth book on ID that I have read, and easily the most substantive. Compared to this, Phillip Johnson's Darwin on Trial is crude, although considerably more readable. Dembski's style is not excessively academic or jargon-laden; when reading philosophy, one must expect terms like "ontologically subjective." Dembski's style is still rather leaden: after struggling under the burden of it for 200 pages, I felt despair at realizing that there were still 125 pages of text to go. Dembski presents an elaborate philosophic justification for ID, confronting the arguments of many critics and including the ideas of many supporters. He also lays out both stringent standards to which ID supporters should hold themselves if they are to be taken seriously, a program of projects and a promotional strategy. Many ID supporters discuss a demonized form of Darwinism that makes it a scapegoat for all the discontents of modernity and materialism as if these were the sole invention of Charles Darwin and will disappear if his theory does. Dembski is quite honest in recognizing that these ideas pervade modern thought. Although I think he exaggerates the importance of Darwinism as a linchpin, he argues that once it is destroyed, a project of purging materialism and naturalism from all sciences and humanities is needed. The book consists of 44 questions about ID, organized into 6 parts. As such, there is a certain amount of repetition so that each discussion can mostly stand on its own; I did not find it excessive. Occasionally, for somewhat more complex issues, there are references to other chapters. Dembski is not always consistent: sometimes he recognizes the difference between an idea being not proven and proving that the idea is invalid. For example, he rightly argues that Darwinism cannot dismiss ID on the grounds that although they cannot explain something, they are confident that they can explain it in the future. On the other hand, he only intermittently concedes that this is not the same thing as proving that Darwinism will never be able to produce an explanation. At other points, he argues that he can positively prove that Darwinian explanations are impossible, without relying upon arguing from present failures. At some points, he concedes that ID must succeed on its positive merits, not merely by eliminating Darwinism, but in Chapter 36, "The only games in town", he seems to be asserting that it is one or the other, there are no other possibilities. In Chapter 29, he chides Howard Van Till for "playing the prophet" for predicting that materialism will be vindicated in the future, and then plays the prophet himself by predicting that it is ID that will triumph. There is a bibliography, but no notes. Some citations are given within the text, but these are usually general references to another text. Statements of fact are not supported by much documentation. The index is disappointing in that it only includes proper names. The arrangement of chapters by questions is some help in relocating information, but I would have preferred a more detailed index. ID makes its bid to be included in public school science curricula chiefly on two claims: first, that it is not tied to religious teachings, and secondly that it is in fact a science. I don't think that Dembski made good on either claim. One might argue that the inclusion of an introduction by the Christian activist Charles W. Colson might be explained by a desire to appeal to all sides of the ID/Darwinism controversy, and even seen as conciliatory. That does not explain why text explaining ID contains discussions of Christian theology at several points. Most strikingly, in Chapter 22, Varieties of Naturalism, Dembski devotes the most text to "antisupernaturalism naturalism" as expounded by David Ray Griffen, continuing with its relationship to process theology, and then rebukes it for "deeply unsatisfying theological implications". He then comments that "pragmatic naturalism" is compatible with Christianity. He apparently doesn't care how any form of naturalism may be compatible with any other religion. He is also less than fully frank about "the Wedge", mentioning only Phillip Johnson's book, but ignoring the Discovery Institute document known by that name that has been cited to argue that ID is in fact religiously motivated. He can disavow it if he likes, but it's an important question left unanswered. Dembski argues that ID can defeat Darwinism on scientic grounds, playing by the empirical rules of science. He argues that certain items in the universe possess an empirically detectable quality called "specified complexity". So where is the protocol for detecting it? He argues that the possession of specified complexity is a strong, even definitive argument for intelligent design. So who did this study, and where is its methodology published? Dembski seems to be claiming that these are currently available: does he mean that they are part of his program of aspirations? Specified complexity depends in part upon probability and I am somewhat skeptical of our ability to produce meaningful numbers for many cases. One cannot simply assume that the number of possibilities that occur if every quality could vary independent is the correct number: qualities may be interdependent. Then one must know how many potential values there are for each quality. If/then speculations are fine, but I am very skeptical of anyone who attempts to argue definitively, for example, that there is/is not life on other planets based on the single example of our world and our limited knowledge of other stellar systems. In sum, if one is interested in ID or the controversy, this is a significant book and should be considered. Personally, I'm impressed by his thoroughness and breadth of vision, but I'm not convinced either of ID's validity or its appropriateness to a public school SCIENCE classroom. For readers wanting critiques of Dembski, his prominence in the ID movement guarantees that most recent books will discuss him. I call the reader's attention to Mark Perakh's somewhat vituperous Unintelligent Design, the first section of which considers Dembski from the perspective of mathematics and information theory, rather than the usual perspectives of biology and general science.