Intelligent Design and
   Irreducible Complexity

Intelligent: ... showing or resulting from an ability to think and understand things clearly and logically.

Intelligent design is a science perspective which infers that natural laws and chance alone are not adequate to explain all natural phenomena. Intelligent design is closely synonymous to creation science. It may only be distinguished by the fact that it makes no claims about who the creator was, nor does it use references from religious texts when forming theories about the history of our world. ID simply postulates that the universe possesses evidence that it was intelligently designed.

"By irreducibly complex I mean a single system composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning. An irreducibly complex system cannot be produced directly (that is, by continuously improving the initial function, which continues to work by the same mechanism) by slight, successive modifications of a precursor system, because any precursor to an irreducibly complex system that is missing a part is by definition nonfunctional. An irreducibly complex biological system, if there is such a thing, would be a powerful challenge to Darwinian evolution. Since natural selection can only choose systems that are already working, then if a biological system cannot be produced gradually it would have to arise as an integrated unit, in one fell swoop, for natural selection to have any thing to act on." Michael Behe, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lehigh University, 1996

Intelligent Design Organizations

• Access Research Network ID Organization with journal: Origins & Design and Discussion Forum
• Discovery Institute
  • DI - Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture
• Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) Center Online
• Intelligent Design Undergraduate Research Community
• Intelligent Design Network
  • IDnet-NM New Mexico Division
• intelligentdesign.org
• International Society for Complexity Information and Design
• Science Excellence For All Ohioans (SEAO)
• Terrestrial Soup

Resource Sites

• Design Inference Website writings of William Dembski
• Eye Design Book Photos and test for almost every kind of eye in nature
• newCreationism.org
• Origins (Leadership University) — scholarly and popular resources concerning intelligent design and philosophical theism
• The Secret of Nature - The System Design and The Grand Unified Thoery of Intelligent Design by John Paily
• Wedge of Truth (Phil Johnson)

Intelligent Design Articles

• A Blindfolded Watchmaker: the Arrival of the Fittest by David Wilcox
• The Fine-Tuning Design Argument: A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God by Robin Collins
• An Introduction to Intelligent Design Theory by the IDEA-Center
• Another Way to Detect Design, Response to review of "The Design Inference" by Dembski, William A.
• Can Evolution Produce an Eye? Not a Chance! by David Menton
• Challenging Naturalistic Evolution Theories by Terrestrial Soup
• Complex Life Cycles in Heterophyid Trematodes: Structural and Developmental Design in the Ascocotyle Complex of Species by Mark Armitage
• Decoding and editing design: double sieve enzymes by Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 13(1):5–7, 1999
• Design and Coincidence from Muslim online book Evolution Deceit
• Design Detection
• Design Evidences in the Cosmos by Hugh Ross
• Design in God's Creation Articles on Intelligent Design by the Biblical Creation Society
• Design in Parasitic Systems, by Mark Armitage
• Design in Living Organisms: Motors by Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 12(1):3–5, 1998
• DesignWatch - Recent scientific news that has bearings on origins and in particular intelligent design theory by Kevin Miller
• Designed or Designoid by Walter L. Bradley
• DNA: The Message in the Message by Nancy R. Pearcey
• Evidence for Design of the Cosmos - Probability Estimate for Attaining the Necessary Parameters for a Life Support Planet by Hugh Ross
• Evolution and intelligent design by Jonathan Wells
• Finding Design in the Earth-Moon System
• Home Alone in the Universe? by Fred Heeren
• Intelligent Design  A Special Report from Natural History Magazine
• Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) Club Online
• Intelligent Design and the NSP World Model by Wayne Spencer
• Intelligent Design as a Theory of Information by William A. Dembski
• Interdependence in Macromolecule Synthesis: Evidence for Design by Doug Sharp
• International Society for Complexity Information and Design
  • Article Archive
  • Progress in Complexity, Information, and Design Journal
• Is the Inverted Retina Really “Bad Design”? by Peter Gurney
• Life's Intelligent Deign Author of 'Darwin on Trial' sees a Win - Tacoma News Tribune 5/2001
• Molecular Machines: Experimental Support for the Design Inference: by Behe, Michael
• Olfactory Design: Smell and Spectroscopy by Jonathan Sarfati, Creation Ex NihiloTechnical Journal 12(2):137–138, 1998
• Our 'tailor-made' Universe, by Nancy Pearcey
• Randomness By Design by William A. Dembski
• Science and Design by William Dembski
• Science and Divine Action by the Meta-Library
• Science Declares Our Universe IS Intelligently Designed by Robert A. Herrmann Ph. D.
• Scientific Evidence for the Existence of God by Walter Bradley
• Scientific Investigation by Terrestrial Soup
• Solar System Geometry - A case for Intelligent Design
• Review of The Design Inference by William A. Dembski
• Teaching intelligent design as religion and science by William A. Dembski
• The 2001 Principle Mordechai Steinman and Gershon Robinson
• The Explanatory Filter A three-part filter for understanding how to separate and identify cause from intelligent design By William Dembski, Ph.D.,
• The Intelligent Design Movement by William A. Dembski
• The living cell an extract supporting design in nature from "Creation, Evolution and Science." - by John V. Collyer.
• The Problem of Information for the Theory of Evolution--Has Dawkins Really Solved It?, by Royal Truman
• The Religion of the Blind Watchmaker by Phillip Johnson
• The Scientific Existence of a Higher Intelligence by Robert A. Herrmann, Ph.D.
• The Wondrous Design and Non-random Character of Chance Events by Robert A. Herrmann
• The World's Smallest Motor: Evidence of Supernatural Design, by Jon Covey
• What every theologian should know about creation, evolution and design William A. Dembski
• Who Designed Woodpeckers by Thomas F. Heinze

Irreducible Complexity

• A Critique of Behe's Mousetrap Illustration by Don Stoner
  • Positive View of Behe's Thesis - Answers to Don Stoner's Objections by George P. Drake
• Blind Faith in a Blind Watchmaker by David Mathews
• Can Evolution Produce the Human Eye? Not a Chance! by David Menton
• Critical Characteristics and the Irreducible Knee Joint by Stuart Burgess
• Darwin's Black Box by Michael Behe
• Dialogue With Atheists on the Evolution of the Eye, Irreducible Complexity, & Intelligent Design Dave Armstrong vs. Steven J. Conifer
• Examples of Irreducible Complexity, Michael J. Behe
• Irreducible Complexity Quotes
• Irreducible Complexity by Intelligent Design.Org
• Irreducible Complexity and Darwinian Pathways: Mike Gene, ARN Forum
• Irreducible Complexity Revisited by William Dembski
• Irreducible Complexity: The Challenge to the Darwinian Evolutionary Explanations of many Biochemical Structures...A Crash Course in Irreducible Complexity by the IDEA Club
• Irreducible Complexity? The Challenge!

Anthropic Principle

The anthropic principle originates from the observation that earth uniquely and perfectly meets the requirements for life, and more specifically human life. Anthropic comes from the greek word anthropis (Man). The very presence of human life within the universe is reliant upon a large number of extremely improbably natural events, and our ecosystem is so fragile that even the slightest alteration would make it impossible for life to exist. The anthropic principle suggests that earth has been specifically designed for the existence of humans.

Creationist Perspectives

• A Precise Plan for Humanity- The Anthropic Principle by Hugh Ross
• Anthropic Coincidences by Stephen M. Barr
• Barrow and Tipler on the Anthropic Principle vs. Divine Design by William Craig
• Design and the Anthropic Principle by Hugh Ross
• Design In Nature: The Anthropic Principle by Donald B. DeYoung ICR Impact 149
• Evidence of the Design of the universe through Anthropic Principles...from the IDEA Club
• Russell on the Anthropic Principle & 'Intelligent Design' Features RealVideos
• The Anthropic Principle by Aish HaTorah
• The Prerequisites of Life in Our Universe by John Leslie

Secular

• Anthropic-principle.com
• Mysterious cosmos by Philip Ball Nature 8/6/04
• The Anthropic Principle
• The Anthropic Principle by Paul Miller

Intelligent Design in the News

• Frist Backs 'Intelligent Design' Teaching Leader Bill Frist Says 'Intelligent Design' Should Be Taught in Schools Alongside Evolution. ABC News August 19, 2005
• Bush backs intelligent design President says students 'ought to be exposed to different ideas', WorldNetDaily August 3, 2005
• Intelligent design: Who has designs on your students' minds? The intelligent-design movement is a small but growing force on US university campuses. For some it bridges the gap between science and faith, for others it goes beyond the pale. Nature April 28, 2005
• Design for Living - The Basis for a Design Theory of Origins by Michael Behe The New York Times February 7, 2005
• Smithsonian in uproar over intelligent-design article Museum researcher's career threatened after he published favorable piece. January 29, 2005
• ‘Intelligent design’ voted in A Pennsylvania school board recently voted to include intelligent design in the district's science curriculum. October 19th, 2004
• Mysterious cosmos by Philip Ball Nature 8/6/04
• The Tyranny of Design by Henry Gee Nature 6/7/04

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