A Witness to Wonder An Essay on Intelligent Design
...r resembles human beings in an intellectual fashion. Secondly it assumed that the designer has created a design that specifically fits our undertakings, noted by the statement “fitted to our needs”. This erases the notion of necessity from the universe, and forces it to rely upon specificity. The most imposing of the assumptions is initiating the tenet, for every cause there must be an affect. In the analogy the cause lies with the intelligent designer, and the affect is the design of all nature. This leads one to assume there is a strict rhythm to the universe based on cause and affect Let us assume then that the assumptions of the conclusion are true, we are then able to explore the convincing nature of the analogy. All those existing, empirically witness the constitution of the universe. Complexity and interdependence is observed in every aspect of nature. This trend is detected on every visible scale. From the microscopic cell, to the macroscopic view of galaxies, the universe is highly structured. These observations reveal to us that existence is manifested by the ability of matter to build upon itself to create fantastic things. It is difficult to fathom that the universe arose from chance or probability, when it resembles design. Human beings are the intellectual elite of the known universe, and have designed many magnificent objects. We are constricted though in our abilities and often find that we hit a wall of aptitude, and cannot overcome it. Therefore we must acknowledge our shortcomings, and exalt something that is superior to us and is capable of such tremendous universal design. Our abilities are also quite careless, reckless and wasteful. A fundamental observation of the universe is that form fits function. The design of the universe employs and demands that anything taking form will result in a complimenting function. Also the universe is self-sustainable, all matter and energy is conserved and reused. Human beings in their attempts at design fall short of these facilities, resulting in inferior designs when related to the design of the universe. Therefore it is inconceivable that human beings could possibly design anything as efficient as the universe. From these accounts, and assuming that the intelligent designer operates using the same processes of human design, we can by analogy argue the existence of a designer much greater than any human being. The assumption of this section of the premise is logical and easily accepted “no human could have designed the universe” and if the assumptions of the conclusion are accepted “there must exist a designer much greater than any human being, who designed and created it” then the analogy stands firm behind the argument for intelligent design. The assumptions of the conclusion though, and the assumption of specificity are very narrow in their view when contemplating the whole of the universe. Therefore faults arise with the analogy when it is viewed with a wider perspective and the foundation of these assumptions becomes precarious. I do not agree or believe that these assumptions can be embraced. The analogy postulates based on human experience and human beings self-seeking interests. The use of human thought processes, extrapolated universally, as a base for design is only natural to use in the analogy, for no other model exists. But it is a very narrow model and it is quite indifferent to the prospect of intelligence beyond our own. If intelligent design exists it is logical to consider that the intelligence is far superior to ours and therefore operates on many exceedingly different levels. If the intelligence of design is to be compared to our own as a base, we would then be able to have some understanding of its complicated nature. Alas this complexity bewilders us, and therefore a parallel of thought processes cannot be compared to our own. The analogy infers that the design of the universe “is fitted to our needs” creating the assumption that the intelligent designer uses specificity in design. Through observation of the universe we can witness that this is not the case. Nature relies on necessity for its advancement. Necessity arises in nature when changes act upon that nature. It is necessary for nature to accommodate to change in or...