The Design Inference
Encyclopedia
The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities (1998) is a book by American philosopher William A. Dembski
, a proponent of intelligent design
, which sets out to establish a mechanism by which evidence of intelligent design in nature could be inferred. Dembski proposes what he calls an "explanatory filter," a method by which chance is ruled out when a highly improbable event conforms to a discernible pattern that is given independently of the event itself. This pattern is Dembski's concept of specified complexity
.
The filter states that if the thing being examined cannot be explained by a law, and it is too statistically unlikely to be explained by chance, and contains an independently given pattern, then it may be attributed to design. Dembski says his concept is useful to those concerned with detecting design: forensic scientists, detectives, insurance fraud investigators, cryptographers, and SETI investigators, as well theologians and others who argue for the concepts of the fine-tuned universe
and the Anthropic Principle
.
This assertion is disputed by scientists from the SETI Institute
and other fields, who state that these fields do not find application for Dembski's explanatory filter and the related concept of specified complexity, but rather upon more prosaic methods and (in the case of SETI) a search for artificial simplicity. Dembski asserts that life itself is such a highly improbable event, conforming to a discernible pattern, and so serves as evidence in-and-of-itself of intelligent design. Scientists generally reject this position, arguing that it is not testable and is therefore unscientific.
as an example of accomplishing one of the intelligent design movement
's five year goals of "Thirty published books on design and its cultural implications (sex, gender issues, medicine, law, and religion). Described by the Discovery Institute as offering "a powerful alternative [to Darwinism]," the book is touted as being "published by major secular university publishers."
In 2000, biologist Massimo Pigliucci
criticized The Design Inference in BioScience
writing, "Too bad he missed the solution to this riddle, which has been proposed several times during the last few centuries, most prominently (and in various fashions) by Hume (1779), Darwin (1859), and Jacques Monod (1971). According to these thinkers, if a given phenomenon occurs with low probability and also conforms to a pre-specified pattern, then there are two possible conclusions: intelligent design (this concept is synonymous with human intervention) or necessity, which can be caused by a nonrandom, deterministic force such as natural selection." Pigliucci wrote "Unfortunately, Cambridge University Press has offered a respectable platform for Dembski to mount his attack on 'materialist science'--which, of course, includes evolution. My hope is that scientists will not dismiss this book as just another craze originating in the intellectual backwaters of America. Neocreationism should be a call to arms for the science community. The battle is already raging, and scientists and educators are still not sure if they should even bother paying attention."
Marine biologist Wesley R. Elsberry
and critic of creationism reviewed the book in 1999. Elsberry described the book as "...a slim and scholarly volume, as one expects from a distinguished academic press [with] clear writing, illustrative examples, and cogent argumentation. The work, though, is motivated and informed by an anti-evolutionary impulse, and its flaws appear to follow from the need to achieve an anti-evolutionary aim. The anti-evolutionary bent is not as overt here, though, as it is in other works by Dembski". Elsberry criticizes the book for using a definition of "design" as what is left over after chance and regularity have been eliminated, and for using an argument that excludes natural selection
a prior in order to conclude the existence of a designer when in fact natural selection fits Dembski's argument just as easily. Elsberry concludes:
William A. Dembski
William Albert "Bill" Dembski is an American proponent of intelligent design, well known for promoting the concept of specified complexity...
, a proponent of intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, which sets out to establish a mechanism by which evidence of intelligent design in nature could be inferred. Dembski proposes what he calls an "explanatory filter," a method by which chance is ruled out when a highly improbable event conforms to a discernible pattern that is given independently of the event itself. This pattern is Dembski's concept of specified complexity
Specified complexity
Specified complexity is an argument proposed by William Dembski and used by him and others to promote intelligent design. According to Dembski, the concept is intended to formalize a property that singles out patterns that are both specified and complex...
.
The filter states that if the thing being examined cannot be explained by a law, and it is too statistically unlikely to be explained by chance, and contains an independently given pattern, then it may be attributed to design. Dembski says his concept is useful to those concerned with detecting design: forensic scientists, detectives, insurance fraud investigators, cryptographers, and SETI investigators, as well theologians and others who argue for the concepts of the fine-tuned universe
Fine-tuned universe
The fine-tuned universe is the proposition that the conditions that allow life in the Universe can only occur when certain universal fundamental physical constants lie within a very narrow range, so that if any of several fundamental constants were only slightly different the universe would be...
and the Anthropic Principle
Anthropic principle
In astrophysics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is the philosophical argument that observations of the physical Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. Some proponents of the argument reason that it explains why the Universe has the age and the fundamental...
.
This assertion is disputed by scientists from the SETI Institute
SETI Institute
The SETI Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to “explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe”. SETI stands for the "search for extraterrestrial intelligence". One program is the use of both radio and optical telescopes to search...
and other fields, who state that these fields do not find application for Dembski's explanatory filter and the related concept of specified complexity, but rather upon more prosaic methods and (in the case of SETI) a search for artificial simplicity. Dembski asserts that life itself is such a highly improbable event, conforming to a discernible pattern, and so serves as evidence in-and-of-itself of intelligent design. Scientists generally reject this position, arguing that it is not testable and is therefore unscientific.
Reception
The Design Inference is specifically mentioned in the Wedge strategyWedge strategy
The wedge strategy is a political and social action plan authored by the Discovery Institute, the hub of the intelligent design movement. The strategy was put forth in a Discovery Institute manifesto known as the Wedge Document, which describes a broad social, political, and academic agenda whose...
as an example of accomplishing one of the intelligent design movement
Intelligent design movement
The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the idea of "intelligent design," which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are...
's five year goals of "Thirty published books on design and its cultural implications (sex, gender issues, medicine, law, and religion). Described by the Discovery Institute as offering "a powerful alternative [to Darwinism]," the book is touted as being "published by major secular university publishers."
In 2000, biologist Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci is the chair of the Department of Philosophy at CUNY-Lehman College. He is also the editor in chief for the journal . He is known as an outspoken critic of creationism and advocate of science education.-Biography:...
criticized The Design Inference in BioScience
BioScience
BioScience is a peer-reviewed monthly sometimes daily scientific journal that is published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences . The content is written and edited for accessibility to researchers, educators, and students alike...
writing, "Too bad he missed the solution to this riddle, which has been proposed several times during the last few centuries, most prominently (and in various fashions) by Hume (1779), Darwin (1859), and Jacques Monod (1971). According to these thinkers, if a given phenomenon occurs with low probability and also conforms to a pre-specified pattern, then there are two possible conclusions: intelligent design (this concept is synonymous with human intervention) or necessity, which can be caused by a nonrandom, deterministic force such as natural selection." Pigliucci wrote "Unfortunately, Cambridge University Press has offered a respectable platform for Dembski to mount his attack on 'materialist science'--which, of course, includes evolution. My hope is that scientists will not dismiss this book as just another craze originating in the intellectual backwaters of America. Neocreationism should be a call to arms for the science community. The battle is already raging, and scientists and educators are still not sure if they should even bother paying attention."
Marine biologist Wesley R. Elsberry
Wesley R. Elsberry
Dr. Wesley Royce Elsberry is a marine biologist with an interdisciplinary background in zoology, computer science, and wildlife and fisheries sciences. He has become involved in the creation-evolution controversy.- Biography :...
and critic of creationism reviewed the book in 1999. Elsberry described the book as "...a slim and scholarly volume, as one expects from a distinguished academic press [with] clear writing, illustrative examples, and cogent argumentation. The work, though, is motivated and informed by an anti-evolutionary impulse, and its flaws appear to follow from the need to achieve an anti-evolutionary aim. The anti-evolutionary bent is not as overt here, though, as it is in other works by Dembski". Elsberry criticizes the book for using a definition of "design" as what is left over after chance and regularity have been eliminated, and for using an argument that excludes natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
a prior in order to conclude the existence of a designer when in fact natural selection fits Dembski's argument just as easily. Elsberry concludes:
External links
- The Design Inference Dembski's website
- How Not to Detect Design (pdf file) by Branden Fitelson, Christopher Stephens and Elliott Sober.
- The advantages of theft over toil: the design inference and arguing from ignorance by John S. Wilkins and Wesley R. Elsberry.
- Claim CI110.4: Intelligent design in biology has been supported by several peer-reviewed journals and books
- Claim CI110: Complex Specified information indicates design