Wherever the logic leads

Star-Telegram | Don Erler:

“I agree that intelligent design should not be taught in biology classes, because the theory is not testable by ordinary scientific methods. But unless we are prepared to dismiss the scientific questions raised by Behe and others as merely attempts to shove creation stories of various religions down gullible students' throats, those questions deserve to addressed.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

First, Texas Governor Rick Perry and others are simply wrong when they assert that intelligent design is a valid scientific theory. It is not testable. It is not predictive. It should not be taught in science classes. Science relies on natural explanations for natural phenomena. Intelligent design relies on divine miracles to explain the origin of life. Supernatural explanations are, by definition, not scientific.

Second, the movement to teach intelligent design in America's classrooms is largely an attempt to teach religious creation stories. The recent case in Dover, Pennsylvania, is a case in point. Some school board members were vocal about their religious motivations and had only a weak grasp of either intelligent design or the theory of natural selection.

Finally, despite the religious motivations of many intelligent design adherents, the scientific questions raised by Dr Michael Behe and others do deserve to be addressed. And they are being addressed -- by scientists themselves. That's what science is all about -- finding natural explanations for natural phenomena. Sometimes, science's best answer for now is "We don't know." Some hypotheses and models pan out. Some don't. Dr Behe does a service in challenging current thinking. Skepticism has always played a role in scientific advancement. Evolution is no exception.

Science never runs out of questions -- physics, geology, astronomy, biology, all have them. How life arose is only one example. Our understanding of the mechanisms of natural selection and evolution is getting deeper all the time. Our scientific knowledge is improving exactly because scientists go "wherever the logic leads." And resist the urge to leap where faith leads.