Judgement Day - Intelligent Design on Trial
This is the title of the documentary, produced by NOVA, which was presented in class which deals with the differences of Darwinian Evolution, and Intelligent Design. The film involves different point of views from various people. Most of the residents of Dover, as well as the school's board members, favor the teaching of ID at school. However, there are a few teachers who oppose the idea, claiming that the idea of ID is not science.
The Dover school board ordered the teaching of the ID concept to high school students of the area. The teachers opposed, as well as some parents. This disagreement eventually led to a lawsuit filed by those opposing the ID, accusing the board of violating the law on separation of church and state. The documentary features a trial re-enactment.
During the trial, the defendants (ID), presented various arguments and evidences. One of those was the flagellum, or the perfect motor. They argued of irreducible complexity, and claims that it appears to have been designed. However, this argument was contradicted with the bacterium which caused the Bubonic plague. It functions like a syringe, without the rotary motion the flagellum has. To further elaborate, Miller used a mouse trap as an example. Once a part is removed, the trap won't be able to catch any mouse, and yet it can still function as a tie clip. That was how Miller disproved irreducible complexity, saying that despite the flagellum missing components, it still serves a good purpose which could be favored by evolution.
In the end, the plaintiffs (Evolution) were favored. Intelligent Design wasn't science. It cannot be tested and does not have any concrete evidence. As was shown in the film, Intelligent Design is only another name for Creationism, and thus remains attached to its religious origins.
Intelligent design. I first encountered the term during my second year in Pisay. At first, I actually thought that the idea is somewhat lame. Ever since I started inquiring about Earth's different creatures, it was Darwin's Evolutionary Theory which gave answers. Such concept came as a surprise.
Religion does teach of God's creation. However, to introduce such theory and let it be a mandatory school lesson seems improper. One major flaw of the concept of ID is its lack of means to provide evidence. It cannot even be tested, for all it says is that some divine being, or intelligent designer as its proponents claim, created all species fit for its environment.
The evolutionary theory has went through tests of time. Even though still a theory, this concept provided evidences to support its claim. The evolutionary tree, though it has gaps, continues to fill itself as more fossil evidences surface.
Science aims to explain things by means of observations of facts. true events, and testable theories. That is the reason why ID doesn't seem like a good concept. It explains life by simply claiming the existence of an intelligent designer. It is more of a religious ideology rather than a scientific idea. That is the reason why I think that ID doesn't deserve to be taught in schools, but to be preached in religious occasions.
