NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Irreducible complexity

Irreducible complexity (IC) is an argument made by proponents of intelligent design that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved from simpler, or "less complete" predecessors, through natural selection acting upon a series of advantageous naturally occurring chance mutations. It is one of two main arguments intended to support intelligent design, the other being specified complexity.^[1] Look up argument in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation), Lives (disambiguation) or Living (disambiguation), Living Things (disambiguation) Look up life, living in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ... This article is about mutation in biology, for other meanings see: mutation (disambiguation). ... Specified complexity is a concept developed by intelligent design proponent William Dembski. ...

Biochemistry professor Michael Behe, the originator of the argument of irreducible complexity, defines an irreducibly complex system as one "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".^[2] These examples are said to demonstrate that modern biological forms could not have evolved naturally. Critics consider that most, or all, of the examples were based on misunderstandings of the workings of the biological systems in question, and consider the low quality of these examples excellent evidence for the argument from ignorance. Irreducible complexity is generally dismissed by the scientific community;^[3] it is often referred to as pseudoscience.^[4] Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... The argument from ignorance, also known as argumentum ad ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance [1]) or argument by lack of imagination, is a logical fallacy in which it is claimed that a premise is true only because it has not been proven false or is only false because it has not... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ...

In the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, Behe gave testimony on the subject of irreducible complexity. The court found that "Professor Behe's claim for irreducible complexity has been refuted in peer-reviewed research papers and has been rejected by the scientific community at large."^[5] Nonetheless, irreducible complexity continues to be cited as an important argument by creationists. Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ...

Definitions

The term "irreducible complexity" was originally defined by Behe as: Michael Behe Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ...

Supporters of intelligent design use this term to refer to biological systems and organs that they believe could not have come about by any series of small changes. They argue that anything less than the complete form of such a system or organ would not work at all, or would in fact be a detriment to the organism, and would therefore never survive the process of natural selection. Although they accept that some complex systems and organs can be explained by evolution, they claim that organs and biological features which are irreducibly complex cannot be explained by current models, and that an intelligent designer must have created life or guided its evolution. Accordingly, the debate on irreducible complexity concerns two questions: whether irreducible complexity can be found in nature, and what significance it would have if it did exist in nature. Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 and 2006 book published by Free Press and written by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... For other uses, see Believe. ...

A second definition given by Behe (his "evolutionary definition") is as follows:

Intelligent design advocate William Dembski gives this definition: William Dembski Dr William Albert Bill Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher and theologian known for advocating the controversial idea of intelligent design. ...

History

Forerunners

The argument from irreducible complexity is a descendant of the teleological argument for God (the argument from design or from complexity). This states that because certain things in nature are very complicated, they must have been designed. William Paley famously argued, in his 1802 watchmaker analogy, that complexity in nature implies a God for the same reason that the existence of a watch implies the existence of a watchmaker.^[6] This argument has a long history, and can be traced back at least as far as Cicero's De natura deorum ii.34. ^[7] ^[8] A teleological argument, or argument from design, is an argument for the existence of God or a creator based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, design and/or direction in nature. ... William Paley William Paley (July 1743 â€“ May 25, 1805) was an English divine, Christian apologist, utilitarian, and philosopher. ... The watchmaker analogy, or watchmaker argument, is a teleological argument for the existence of God. ... For other uses, see Cicero (disambiguation). ...

The idea that the interrelationship between parts of living things would have implications for their origins was raised by writers starting with Pierre Gassendi in the mid 17th century^[9] In the late 17th century, Thomas Burnet referred to "a multitude of pieces aptly joyn’d" to argue against the eternity of life.^[10] In the early 18th century, Nicolas Malebranche^[11] used this idea to argue in favor of preformation (see homunculus), rather than full development (see epigenesis), of the individual embryo; and a similar argument about the origins of the individual was made by other 18th century students of natural history. Chapter XV of Paley's Natural Theology discusses at length what he called "relations" of parts of living things as an indication of their design.^[6] In a different application, in the early 19th century Georges Cuvier used the concept of "correlation of parts" in establishing the anatomy of animals from fragmentary remains.^[12]^[13] Pierre Gassendi (January 22, 1592 â€“ October 24, 1655) was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician, best known for attempting to reconcile Epicurean atomism with Christianity and for publishing the first official observations of the Transit of Mercury in 1631. ... Thomas Burnet Thomas Burnet (1635? - 1715), theologian and writer on cosmogony, was born at Croft near Darlington, and educated at Cambridge, and became Master of Charterhouse and Clerk of the Closet to William III. His literary fame rests on his Telluris Theoria Sacra, or Sacred Theory of the Earth, published... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... Malebranche redirects here. ... Preformationism is the theory that all organisms were created at the same time, and that succeeding generations grow from homunculi, animalcules, or other fully-formed but miniature versions of themselves that have existed since the beginning of creation. ... The concept of a homunculus (Latin for little man, sometimes spelled homonculus, plural homunculi) is often used to illustrate the functioning of a system. ... In geology, epigenesis means changes in the mineral composition of a rock because of outside influences, e. ... Georges Cuvier Baron Georges LÃ©opold ChrÃ©tien FrÃ©dÃ©ric Dagobert Cuvier (August 23, 1769â€“May 13, 1832) was a French naturalist and zoologist. ...

While he did not originate the term, Charles Darwin identified the argument as a possible way to falsify a prediction of the theory of evolution at the outset. In The Origin of Species, he wrote, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find out no such case."^[14] Darwin's theory of evolution challenges the teleological argument by postulating an alternative explanation to that of an intelligent designer—namely, evolution by natural selection.^[clarify] The argument from irreducible complexity attempts to demonstrate that certain biological features cannot be purely the product of Darwinian evolution. For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ...

Hermann Muller, in the early 20th century, discussed a concept similar to irreducible complexity. However, far from seeing this as a problem for evolution, he described the "interlocking" of biological features as a consequence to be expected of evolution, which would lead to irreversibility of some evolutionary changes.^[15] He wrote, "Being thus finally woven, as it were, into the most intimate fabric of the organism, the once novel character can no longer be withdrawn with impunity, and may have become vitally necessary."^[16] Hermann Joseph H. J. Muller (December 21, 1890 â€“ April 5, 1967) was a Nobel Prize-winning American geneticist and educator, best known for his work on the physiological and genetic effects of radiation (X-ray mutagenesis) as well as his outspoken political beliefs. ...

In 1974, Young Earth Creationist Henry M. Morris introduced a similar concept in his book "Scientific Creationism" in which he wrote; "This issue can actually be attacked quantitatively, using simple principles of mathematical probability. The problem is simply whether a complex system, in which many components function unitedly together, and in which each component is uniquely necessary to the efficient functioning of the whole, could ever arise by random processes."^[17] ... Henry M. Morris Henry Madison Morris, Ph. ...

In 1981, Ariel Roth, in defense of the creation science position in the trial McLean v. Arkansas, said of "complex integrated structures" that "This system would not be functional until all the parts were there ... How did these parts survive during evolution ...?"^[18] McLean v. ...

In 1985 Cairns-Smith wrote of "interlocking", "How can a complex collaboration between components evolve in small steps?" and used the analogy of the scaffolding in building an arch: "Surely there was 'scaffolding'. Before the multitudinous components of present biochemistry could come to lean together they had to lean on something else."^[19] Dr. A. Graham Cairns-Smith (19?? to 20??) is an organic chemist and molecular biologist at Glasgow University, most famous for his controversial 1985 book, Seven Clues to the Origins of Life. ...

An essay in support of creationism published in 1994 referred to bacterial flagella as showing "multiple, integrated components", where "nothing about them works unless every one of their complexly fashioned and integrated components are in place" and asked the reader to "imagine the effects of natural selection on those organisms that fortuitously evolved the flagella ... without the concommitant [sic] control mechanisms".^[20]^[21] Creationism is a religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity or deities (often the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), whose existence is presupposed. ...

An early concept of irreducibly complex systems comes from Ludwig von Bertalanffy, a 20th-century Austrian biologist.^[22] He believed that complex systems must be examined as complete, irreducible systems in order to fully understand how they work. He extended his work on biological complexity into a general theory of systems in a book titled General Systems Theory. After James Watson and Francis Crick published the structure of DNA in the early 1950s, General Systems Theory lost many of its adherents in the physical and biological sciences.^[23] However, Systems theory remained popular in the social sciences long after its demise in the physical and biological sciences. Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy (September 19, 1901, Vienna, Austria - June 12, 1972, New York, USA) was a biologist who was a founder of general systems theory--which he literally translated from the mathematization of Nicolai Hartmanns Ontology as stated by himself in his seminal work-- .An Austrian citizen, he... Irreducibility, in philosophy, has the sense that a complete account of an entity will not be possible at lower levels of explanation. ... Systems theory is an interdisciplinary field of science. ... For other people named James Watson, see James Watson (disambiguation). ... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 â€“ 28 July 2004), (Ph. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ...

Origins

Michael Behe developed his ideas on the concept around 1992, in the early days of the 'wedge movement', and first presented his ideas about "irreducible complexity" in June 1993 when the "Johnson-Behe cadre of scholars" met at Pajaro Dunes in California.^[24] He set out his ideas in the second edition of Of Pandas and People published in 1993, extensively revising Chapter 6 Biochemical Similarities with new sections on the complex mechanism of blood clotting and on the origin of proteins.^[25] Image File history File links Darwinsblackbox. ... Image File history File links Darwinsblackbox. ... Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 and 2006 book published by Free Press and written by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... The wedge strategy is a political and social action plan authored by the Discovery Institute, an organization that works to promote a Neo-Creationist religious agenda centering on Intelligent design, and is the hub of the Intelligent design movement. ... Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 (2nd edition 1993) school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). ...

He first used the term "irreducible complexity" in his 1996 book Darwin's Black Box, to refer to certain complex biochemical cellular systems. He posits that evolutionary mechanisms cannot explain the development of such "irreducibly complex" systems. Notably, Behe credits philosopher William Paley for the original concept, not von Bertalanffy, and suggests that his application of the concept to biological systems is entirely original. Intelligent design advocates argue that irreducibly complex systems must have been deliberately engineered by some form of intelligence. Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 and 2006 book published by Free Press and written by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... Drawing of the structure of cork as it appeared under the microscope to Robert Hooke from Micrographia which is the origin of the word cell being used to describe the smallest unit of a living organism Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the... William Paley William Paley (July 1743 â€“ May 25, 1805) was an English divine, Christian apologist, utilitarian, and philosopher. ... An intelligent designer, also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life and who supposedly has left scientific evidence of this intelligent design. ...

In 2001, Michael Behe wrote: "[T]here is an asymmetry between my current definition of irreducible complexity and the task facing natural selection. I hope to repair this defect in future work." Behe specifically explained that the "current definition puts the focus on removing a part from an already functioning system", but the "difficult task facing Darwinian evolution, however, would not be to remove parts from sophisticated pre-existing systems; it would be to bring together components to make a new system in the first place". In the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial, Behe testified under oath that he "did not judge [the asymmetry] serious enough to [have revised the book] yet." ^[26] Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ...

Behe additionally testified that the presence of irreducible complexity in organisms would not rule out the involvement of evolutionary mechanisms in the development of organic life. He further testified that he knew of no earlier "peer reviewed articles in scientific journals discussing the intelligent design of the blood clotting cascade," but that there were "probably a large number of peer reviewed articles in science journals that demonstrate that the blood clotting system is indeed a purposeful arrangement of parts of great complexity and sophistication." ^[27] (The result of the trial was the ruling that "intelligent design is not science and is essentially religious in nature".)^[28]

According to the theory of evolution, genetic variations occur without specific design or intent. The environment "selects" the variants that have the highest fitness, which are then passed on to the next generation of organisms. Change occurs by the gradual operation of natural forces over time, perhaps slowly, perhaps more quickly (see punctuated equilibrium). This process is able to adapt complex structures from simpler beginnings, or convert complex structures from one function to another (see spandrel). Most intelligent design advocates accept that evolution occurs through mutation and natural selection at the "micro level", such as changing the relative frequency of various beak lengths in finches, but assert that it cannot account for irreducible complexity, because none of the parts of an irreducible system would be functional or advantageous until the entire system is in place. Punctuated equilibrium (or punctuated equilibria) is a theory in evolutionary biology which states that most sexually reproducing species will show little to no evolutionary change throughout their history. ... For other uses, see Adaptation (disambiguation). ... A spandrel is a phenotypic characteristic that evolved as a side effect of a true adaptation. ... Microevolution is the occurrence of small-scale changes in allele frequencies in a population, over a few generations, also known as change at or below the species level. ...

Behe uses the mousetrap as an illustrative example of this concept. A mousetrap consists of several interacting pieces—the base, the catch, the spring, the hammer. Behe contends that all of these must be in place for the mousetrap to work, and that the removal of any one piece destroys the function of the mousetrap. Likewise, biological systems require multiple parts working together in order to function. Intelligent design advocates claim that natural selection could not create from scratch those systems for which science is currently unable to find a viable evolutionary pathway of successive, slight modifications, because the selectable function is only present when all parts are assembled. Behe's original examples of irreducibly complex mechanisms included the bacterial flagellum of E. coli, the blood clotting cascade, cilia, and the adaptive immune system. For the insect anatomical structure, see Antenna (biology). ... See also Entamoeba coli. ... Coagulation is the thickening or congealing of any liquid into solid clots. ... cross-section of two cilia, showing 9+2 structure A cilium (plural cilia) is a fine projection from a eukaryotic cell that constantly beats in one direction. ... A scanning electron microscope image of a single neutrophil (yellow), engulfing anthrax bacteria (orange). ...

Behe argues that organs and biological features which are irreducibly complex cannot be wholly explained by current models of evolution. He argues that: Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... For other uses, see Mousetrap (disambiguation). ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

Irreducible complexity is not an argument that evolution does not occur, but rather an argument that it is "incomplete". In the last chapter of Darwin's Black Box, Behe goes on to explain his view that irreducible complexity is evidence for intelligent design. Mainstream critics, however, argue that irreducible complexity, as defined by Behe, can be generated by known evolutionary mechanisms. Behe's claim that no scientific literature adequately modeled the origins of biochemical systems through evolutionary mechanisms has been shown by TalkOrigins to be false.^[30]^[31] The judge in the Dover trial wrote "By defining irreducible complexity in the way that he has, Professor Behe attempts to exclude the phenomenon of exaptation by definitional fiat, ignoring as he does so abundant evidence which refutes his argument. Notably, the NAS has rejected Professor Behe’s claim for irreducible complexity..."^[32] Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 and 2006 book published by Free Press and written by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... Talk. ... An exaptation is a biological adaptation where the biological function currently performed by the adaptation was not the function performed while the adaptation evolved under earlier pressures of natural selection. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ...

Stated examples

Behe and others have suggested a number of biological features that they believe may be irreducibly complex.

Blood clotting cascade

The blood clotting cascade in vertebrates is a complex biological pathway that is given as an example of apparent irreducible complexity.^[33] This article is about the clotting of blood. ...

The irreducible complexity argument assumes that the necessary parts of a system have always been necessary, and therefore could not have been added sequentially. However, in evolution, something which is at first merely advantageous can later become necessary. For example, one of the clotting factors that Behe listed as a part of the clotting cascade was later found to be absent in whales, demonstrating that it is not essential for a clotting system.^[34] Many purportedly irreducible structures can be found in other organisms as much simpler systems that utilize fewer parts. These systems, in turn, may have had even simpler precursors that are now extinct. The "improbability argument" also misrepresents natural selection. It is correct to say that a set of simultaneous mutations that form a complex protein structure is so unlikely as to be unfeasible, but that is not what Darwin advocated. His explanation is based on small accumulated changes that take place without a final goal. Each step must be advantageous in its own right, although biologists may not yet understand the reason behind all of them -- for example, jawless fish accomplish blood clotting with just six proteins instead of the full 10.^[35].

Eye

The eye is a famous example of a supposedly irreducibly complex structure, due to its many elaborate and interlocking parts, seemingly all dependent upon one another. It is frequently cited by intelligent design and creationism advocates as an example of irreducible complexity. Behe used the "development of the eye problem" as evidence for intelligent design in Darwin's Black Box. Although Behe acknowledged that the evolution of the larger anatomical features of the eye have been well-explained, he claimed that the complexity of the minute biochemical reactions required at a molecular level for light sensitivity still defies explanation. Creationist Jonathan Sarfati has described the eye as evolutionary biologists' "greatest challenge as an example of superb 'irreducible complexity' in God's creation", specifically pointing to the supposed "vast complexity" required for transparency.^[36] Diagram of major stages in the eyes evolution. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Species Many, see species section. ... For other uses, see Eye (disambiguation). ... Jonathan D. Sarfati (born October 1, 1964) is a creationist who was trained as a scientist. ...

In an oft-quoted passage from The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin himself acknowledged the eye's development as a difficulty for his theory, noting that "to suppose that the eye... could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree". However, he went on to note that, if gradual evolution of the eye could be shown to be possible, "the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, can hardly be considered real", and proceeded to roughly map a possible course for evolution through examples from gradually more complex eyes of various species.^[37] Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...

Since Darwin's day, the eye's ancestry has become much better understood. Although learning about the construction of ancient eyes through fossil evidence is problematic due to the soft tissues leaving no imprint or remains, genetic and comparative anatomical evidence has increasingly supported the idea of a common ancestry for all eyes.^[38]^[39]^[40] Image File history File links Created by Jerry Crimson Mann 07:07, 2 August 2005 (UTC). ... Image File history File links Created by Jerry Crimson Mann 07:07, 2 August 2005 (UTC). ... For other uses, see Octopus (disambiguation). ... Human eye cross-sectional view. ... Blind spot can refer to: In ophthalmology, Scotoma, an obscuration of the visual field Optic disc, also known as the anatomical blind spot, the specific region of the retina where the optic nerve and blood vessels pass through to connect to the back of the eye Blind spot (vision), also... The optic disc or optic nerve head is the location where ganglion cell axons exit the eye to form the optic nerve. ... Diagram of major stages in the eyes evolution. ...

As Behe admits, current evidence does suggest possible evolutionary lineages for the origins of the anatomical features of the eye, for example, that eyes originated as simple patches of photoreceptor cells that could detect the presence or absence of light, but not its direction. By developing a small depression for the photosensitive cells, the organisms obtained a better sense of the light's source, and by continuing to deepen the depression into a pit so that light would strike certain cells depending on its angle, increasingly precise visible information was possible. The aperture of the eye was then shrunk in order to focus the light, turning the eye into a pinhole camera and allowing the organism to dimly make out shapes—the nautilus is a modern example of an animal with such an eye. Finally, the protective layer of transparent cells over the aperture was differentiated into a crude lens, and the interior of the eye was filled with humours to assist in focusing images.^[41]^[42]^[43] In this way, eyes are recognized by modern biologists as actually a relatively unambiguous and simple structure to evolve, and many of the major developments of the eye's evolution are believed to have taken place over only a few million years, during the Cambrian explosion.^[44] However, according to Behe, the complexity of light sensitivity at the molecular level and the minute biochemical reactions required for those first "simple patches of photoreceptor[s]" still defies explanation. A photoreceptor, or photoreceptor cell, is a specialized type of neuron found in the eyes retina that is capable of phototransduction. ... Principle of a pinhole camera. ... Genera Allonautilus Nautilus Nautilus (from Greek Î½Î±Ï…Ï„Î¯Î»Î¿Ï‚, sailor) is the common name of any marine creatures of the cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole family of the suborder Nautilina. ... Light from a single point of a distant object and light from a single point of a near object being brought to a focus by changing the curvature of the lens. ... The Cambrian explosion is the geologically kukko sudden appearance in the fossil record of the ancestors of familiar animals, starting about 542 million years ago (Mya). ...

Flagella

The flagella of certain bacteria constitute a molecular motor requiring the interaction of about 40 complex protein parts, and the absence of any one of these proteins causes the flagella to fail to function. Behe holds that the flagellum "engine" is irreducibly complex because if we try to reduce its complexity by positing an earlier and simpler stage of its evolutionary development, we get an organism which functions improperly. The evolution of flagella is of great interest to biologists because the three known varieties of flagella (eukaryotic, bacterial, and archaebacterial) each represent an extremely sophisticated cellular structure that requires the interaction of many different and finely-tuned systems to function correctly. ... A flagellum (plural, flagella) is a whip-like organelle that many unicellular organisms, and some multicellular ones, use to move about. ... Molecular motors are biological nanomachines and are the essential agents of movement in living organisms. ...

Mainstream scientists regard this argument as having been largely disproved in the light of fairly recent research.^[45] They point out that the basal body of the flagella has been found to be similar to the Type III secretory system (TTSS), a needle-like structure that pathogenic germs such as Salmonella and Yersinia pestis use to inject toxins into living eucaryote cells. The needle's base has many elements in common with the flagellum, but it is missing most of the proteins that make a flagellum work. Thus, this system seems to negate the claim that taking away any of the flagellum's parts would render it useless. This has caused Kenneth Miller to note that, "The parts of this supposedly irreducibly complex system actually have functions of their own." ^[46] Species S. enterica This article is about the bacteria. ... Binomial name (Lehmann & Neumann, 1896) van Loghem 1944 Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis) is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic bipolar-staining (giving it a safety pin appearance) bacillus bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. ... For other uses, see Toxin (disambiguation). ... Kingdoms Eukaryotes are organisms with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ... There is also a different professor Kenneth Miller [1] Professor Kenneth R. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University in the United States. ...

Response of the scientific community

Like intelligent design, the concept it seeks to support, irreducible complexity has failed to gain any notable acceptance within the scientific community. One science writer called it a "full-blown intellectual surrender strategy."^[47] This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Reducibility of "irreducible" systems

Potentially viable evolutionary pathways have been proposed for allegedly irreducibly complex systems such as blood clotting, the immune system^[48] and the flagellum,^[49]^[50] which were the three examples Behe used. Even his example of a mousetrap was shown to be reducible by John H. McDonald.^[29] If irreducible complexity is an insurmountable obstacle to evolution, it should not be possible to conceive of such pathways—Behe has remarked that such plausible pathways would defeat his argument.

Niall Shanks and Karl H. Joplin, both of East Tennessee State University, have shown that systems satisfying Behe's characterization of irreducible biochemical complexity can arise naturally and spontaneously as the result of self-organizing chemical processes.^[51]^[52] They also assert that what evolved biochemical and molecular systems actually exhibit is "redundant complexity"—a kind of complexity that is the product of an evolved biochemical process. They claim that Behe overestimated the significance of irreducible complexity because of his simple, linear view of biochemical reactions, resulting in his taking snapshots of selective features of biological systems, structures and processes, while ignoring the redundant complexity of the context in which those features are naturally embedded. They also criticized his over-reliance of overly simplistic metaphors, such as his mousetrap. In addition, research published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature has shown that computer simulations of evolution demonstrate that it is possible for irreducible complexity to evolve naturally.^[53] East Tennessee State University (abbreviated ETSU) was founded on October 2, 1911. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ...

It is illustrative to compare a mousetrap with a cat, in this context. Both normally function so as to control the mouse population. The cat has many parts that can be removed leaving it still functional; for example, its tail can be bobbed, or it can lose an ear in a fight. Comparing the cat and the mousetrap, then, one sees that the mousetrap (which is not alive) offers better evidence, in terms of irreducible complexity, for intelligent design than the cat. Even looking at the mousetrap analogy, several critics have described ways in which the parts of the mousetrap could have independent uses or could develop in stages, demonstrating that it is not irreducibly complex.^[29]

Moreover, even cases where removing a certain component in an organic system will cause the system to fail do not demonstrate that the system couldn't have been formed in a step-by-step, evolutionary process. By analogy, stone arches are irreducibly complex—if you remove any stone the arch will collapse—yet we build them easily enough, one stone at a time, by building over scaffolding that is removed afterward. Similarly, naturally occurring arches of stone are formed by weathering away bits of stone from a large concretion that has formed previously. Rainbow Bridge was formed by a meandering watercourse. ...

Evolution can act to simplify as well as to complicate. This raises the possibility that seemingly irreducibly complex biological features may have been achieved with a period of increasing complexity, followed by a period of simplification.

In April 2006 a team led by Joe Thornton, assistant professor of biology at the University of Oregon's Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, using techniques for resurrecting ancient genes, scientists for the first time reconstructed the evolution of an apparently irreducibly complex molecular system. The research was published in the April 7 issue of Science.^[54]

It may be that irreducible complexity does not actually exist in nature, that the examples given by Behe and others are not in fact irreducibly complex, but can be explained in terms of simpler precursors. There has also been a theory that challenges irreducible complexity called facilitated variation. The theory has been presented in 2005 by Marc W. Kirschner, a professor and chair of Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School, and John C. Gerhart, a professor in Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley. In their theory, they describe how certain mutation and changes can cause apparent irreducible complexity. Thus, seemingly irreducibly complex structures are merely "very complex", or they are simply misunderstood or misrepresented. Facilitated variation is a new theory that has been presented by MARC W. KIRSCHNER, a professor and chair, Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School,and JOHN C. GERHART is professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley. ... Professor Marc W. Kirschner is an American systems biologist. ... Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Sather Tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ...

Gradual adaptation to new functions

The precursors of complex systems, when they are not useful in themselves, may be useful to perform other, unrelated functions. Evolutionary biologists argue that evolution often works in this kind of blind, haphazard manner in which the function of an early form is not necessarily the same as the function of the later form. The term used for this process is "exaptation". The mammalian middle ear (derived from a jawbone) and the panda's thumb (derived from a wrist bone spur) are considered classic examples. A 2006 article in Nature^[55] demonstrates intermediate states leading toward the development of the ear in a Devonian fish (about 360 million years ago). Furthermore, recent research shows that viruses play a heretofore unexpectedly great role in evolution by mixing and matching genes from various hosts. An exaptation is a biological adaptation where the biological function currently performed by the adaptation was not the function performed while the adaptation evolved under earlier pressures of natural selection. ... Panda Bear redirects here. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Celtic language, see Southwestern Brythonic language; for the residents of the English county, see Devon. ...

Arguments for irreducibility often assume that things started out the same way they ended up—as we see them now. However, that may not necessarily be the case.

Regarding Behe's antibody example, we have the "marker" substance and the "killer" substance, that together hunt and kill marked invaders. Behe claims that by themselves, the marker and the killer are useless, and thus must have been made at the same time. The killer cannot kill what it cannot find and the marker has no ability to kill even if it can find a target.

However, under gradual replacement, a different marker may have started out as an independent hunter and killer. After a while, a helper killer joined this army because it had some nice specialties. However, this second killer still depended on the first one to find the target. Thus the first killer served as both a marker and a killer, and the second killer is just a killer, relying on the first to hunt.

Perhaps over time it is more efficient to have the second killer specialize in killing and the first specialize in marking, and so the first killer is replaced by a similar substance that is merely a marker (perhaps a better marker than the first dual-purpose one).

Thus, each step is an advantage, yet the final result is a dependent pair that does not resemble the proto-killer. This example can be laid out as:

All we see today is "MK". Opponents of irreducible complexity state that Behe erroneously assumes that if the structure ended up MK, then it must have started out as M or K by themselves.

Falsifiability and experimental evidence

Some critics, such as Jerry Coyne (professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago) and Eugenie Scott (a physical anthropologist and executive director of the National Center for Science Education) have argued that the concept of irreducible complexity, and more generally, the theory of intelligent design is not falsifiable, and therefore, not scientific. Jerry Coyne is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... Eugenie Scott. ... Physical anthropology, often called biological anthropology, studies the mechanisms of biological evolution, genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology, primate morphology, and the fossil record of human evolution. ... The NCSEs logo The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a non-profit organization affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... This page discusses how a theory or assertion is falsifiable (disprovable opp: verifiable), rather than the non-philosophical use of falsification, meaning counterfeiting. ... For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ...

Behe argues that the theory that irreducibly complex systems could not have been evolved can be falsified by an experiment where such systems are evolved. For example, he posits taking bacteria with no flagella and imposing a selective pressure for mobility. If, after a few thousand generations, the bacteria evolved the bacterial flagellum, then Behe believes that this would refute his theory. A flagellum (plural, flagella) is a whip-like organelle that many unicellular organisms, and some multicellular ones, use to move about. ...

Other critics take a different approach, pointing to experimental evidence that they believe falsifies the argument for Intelligent Design from irreducible complexity. For example, Kenneth Miller cites the lab work of Barry G. Hall on E. coli, which he asserts is evidence that "Behe is wrong."^[56] There is also a different professor Kenneth Miller [1] Professor Kenneth R. Miller is professor of biology at Brown University in the United States. ... See also Entamoeba coli. ...

Other evidence that irreducible complexity is not a problem for evolution comes from the field of computer science, where computer analogues of the processes of evolution are routinely used to automatically design complex solutions to problems. The results of such Genetic Algorithms are frequently irreducibly complex since the process, like evolution, both removes non-essential components over time as well as adding new components. The removal of unused components with no essential function, like the natural process where rock underneath a natural arch is removed, can produce irreducibly complex structures without requiring the intervention of a designer. Researchers applying these algorithms are automatically producing human competitive designs--but no human designer is required.^[57] Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... A genetic algorithm (GA) is an algorithm used to find approximate solutions to difficult-to-solve problems through application of the principles of evolutionary biology to computer science. ... Rainbow Bridge was formed by a meandering watercourse. ...

Argument from ignorance

Intelligent design proponents attribute to an intelligent designer those biological structures they believe are irreducibly complex and where a natural explanation is absent or insufficient to account for them.^[58] However, critics view irreducible complexity as a special case of the "complexity indicates design" claim, and thus see it as an argument from ignorance and God of the gaps argument.^[59] The argument from ignorance, also known as argumentum ad ignorantiam (appeal to ignorance [1]) or argument by lack of imagination, is a logical fallacy in which it is claimed that a premise is true only because it has not been proven false or is only false because it has not... The God of the gaps refers to a view of God deriving from a theistic position in which anything that can be explained by human knowledge is not in the domain of God, so the role of God is therefore confined to the gaps in scientific explanations of nature. ...

Eugenie Scott, along with Glenn Branch and other critics, has argued that many points raised by intelligent design proponents are arguments from ignorance.^[60] Behe has been accused of using an "argument by lack of imagination", and Behe himself acknowledges that simply because scientists cannot currently see how an "irreducibly complex" organism could evolve, it does not prove that there is no possible way for it to have occurred. Eugenie Scott. ... Glenn Branch is the Deputy Director of the National Center for Science Education[1] and a prominent critic of creationism and its offshoot, intelligent design. ...

Irreducible complexity is at its core an argument against evolution. If truly irreducible systems were found, the implication is that intelligent design is the correct explanation for their existence. However, this conclusion is based on the assumption that current evolutionary theory and intelligent design are the only two valid models to explain life, a false dilemma.^[61] For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... The form of the fallacy of false dichotomy as an argument map with the conclusion at the top of the tree. ...

Irreducible complexity in the Dover trial

While testifying at the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial Behe conceded that there are no peer-reviewed papers supporting his claims that complex molecular systems, like the bacterial flagellum, the blood-clotting cascade, and the immune system, were intelligently designed nor are there any peer-reviewed articles supporting his argument that certain complex molecular structures are "irreducibly complex." ^[3] Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ...

In the final ruling of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, Judge Jones specifically singled out Behe and irreducible complexity^[3]:

President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... William Paley William Paley (July 1743 â€“ May 25, 1805) was an English divine, Christian apologist, utilitarian, and philosopher. ...

Notes and references

^ Forrest, Barbara (May,2007), Understanding the Intelligent Design Creationist Movement: Its True Nature and Goals. A Position Paper from the Center for Inquiry, Office of Public Policy, Washington, D.C.: Center for Inquiry, Inc., <http://www.centerforinquiry.net/uploads/attachments/intelligent-design.pdf>. Retrieved on 22 August 2007 .
^ Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael Behe, 1996, quoted in Irreducible Complexity and Michael Behe (retrieved 8 January 2006)
^ ^a ^b ^c Ruling, Judge John E. Jones III, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
^ "for most members of the mainstream scientific community, ID is not a scientific theory, but a creationist pseudoscience." Trojan Horse or Legitimate Science: Deconstructing the Debate over Intelligent Design David Mu. Harvard Science Review, Volume 19, Issue 1, Fall 2005. Why Intelligent Design Isn't Intelligent Review of: Unintelligent Design, by Mark Perakh Mark D. Decker. College of Biological Sciences, General Biology Program, University of Minnesota Frequently Asked Questions About the Texas Science Textbook Adoption Controversy "The Discovery Institute and ID proponents have a number of goals that they hope to achieve using disingenuous and mendacious methods of marketing, publicity, and political persuasion. They do not practice real science because that takes too long, but mainly because this method requires that one have actual evidence and logical reasons for one's conclusions, and the ID proponents just don't have those. If they had such resources, they would use them, and not the disreputable methods they actually use."
^ Ruling, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, page 64
^ ^a ^b William Paley: Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity. Collected from the Appearances of Nature 12th edition, 1809
^ On the Nature of the Gods, translated by Francis Brooks, London: Methuen, 1896.
^ See Henry Hallam's Introduction to the Literature of Europe part iii chapter iii paragraph 26 footnote u
^ De Generatione Animalium, chapter III. Partial translation in: Howard B. Adelmann, Marcello Malpighi and the Evolution of Embryology Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, 1966, volume 2, pages 811-812.
^ The Sacred Theory of the Earth, 2nd edition, London: Walter Kettilby, 1691. Book I Chapter IV page 43
^ De la recherche de la verité 6.2.4, 6th edition, 1712. English translation The Search after Truth, tr. and ed. Thomas M. Lennon and Paul J. Olscamp, Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-521-58004-8. See page 465.
^ Andrew Pyle, Malebranche on Animal Generation: Preexistence and the Microscope, in Justin E.H. Smith, ed. (2006) The Problem of Animal Generation in Early Modern Philosophy ISBN 0-521-84077-5, pg 202-203
^ The Chicken or the Egg
^ Darwin, Charles (1859). On the Origin of Species. London: John Murray. page 189, Chapter VI
^ Hermann J. Muller: Genetic variability, twin hybrids and constant hybrids, in a case of balanced lethal factors, Genetics 1918 3: 422-499, especially pages 463-464.
^ Hermann J. Muller: Reversibility in evolution considered from the standpoint of genetics, Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 4(3) 1939, 261-280, quotation from page 272.
^ Scientific Creationism, edited by Henry M. Morris, Master Books; General ed., 2nd ed edition (October 1974), ISBN-10: 0890510032 , page 59.
^ Normal L. Geisler, A. F. Brooke II, Mark J. Keough, The Creator in the Courtroom: "Scopes II", Milford, MI: Mott Media, 1982. ISBN 978-0-88062-020-8, p. 146 [1]
^ Pages 39, 58-64, A. G. Cairns-Smith, Seven Clues to the Origin of Life: A Scientific Detective Story, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. ISBN 0-521-27522-9
^ Richard D. Lumsden,Not So Blind A Watchmaker, Creation Research Society Quarterly, vol. 31 no. 1 (June, 1994), pages 13-22. Quotations from pages 13 and 20.
^ Eugenie C. Scott and Nicholas J. Matzke, Biological design in science classrooms, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 104 suppl. 1 (May 15, 2007), pp. 8669-8676. See page 8672.
^ Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1952). Problems of Life: An Evaluation of Modern Biological and Scientific Thought, pg 148 ISBN 1-131-79242-4
^ Chance and Necessity: An Essay on the Natural Philosophy of Modern Biology, Jacques Monod, 1971
^ Barbara Forrest, The Wedge at Work. Talk Reason, Chapter 1 of the book "Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics" (MIT Press, 2001), Retrieved 2007-05-28.
^ The New Pandas: Has Creationist Scholarship Improved? Comments on 1993 Revisions by Frank J. Sonleitner (1994)
Introduction: Of Pandas and People, the foundational work of the 'Intelligent Design' movement by Nick Matzke 2004,
Design on Trial in Dover, Pennsylvania by Nicholas J Matzke, NCSE Public Information Project Specialist
^ Behe, Michael (2001). Reply to My Critics. See also Behe's testimonial in Kitzmiller v. Dover
^ Behe, Michael 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District 4: whether ID is science (p. 88)
^ Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District 6: Conclusion, section H
^ ^a ^b ^c A reducibly complex mousetrap (graphics-intensive, requires JavaScript)
^ Claim CA350: Professional literature is silent on the subject of the evolution of biochemical systems TalkOrigins Archive.
^ Behe, Michael J. [1996]. Darwin's black box : the biochemical challenge to evolution, 72. ISBN 0684827549. “"Yet here again the evolutionary literature is totally missing. No scientist has ever published a model to account for the gradual evolution of this extraordinary molecular machine"”
^ Ruling, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, December 2005. Page 74.
^ Action, George "Behe and the Blood Clotting Cascade"
^ Semba U, Shibuya Y, Okabe H, Yamamoto T (1998). "Whale Hageman factor (factor XII): prevented production due to pseudogene conversion". Thromb Res 90 (1): 31-7. PMID 9678675.
^ Creationism special: A sceptic's guide to intelligent design, New Scientist, 09 July 2005
^ Sarfati, Jonathan (2000). Argument: 'Irreducible complexity', from Refuting Evolution (Answers in Genesis).
^ Darwin, Charles (1859). On the Origin of Species. London: John Murray. pages 186ff, Chapter VI
^ Halder, G., Callaerts, P. and Gehring, W.J. (1995). "New perspectives on eye evolution." Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 5 (pp. 602 –609).
^ Halder, G., Callaerts, P. and Gehring, W.J. (1995). "Induction of ectopic eyes by targeted expression of the eyeless gene in Drosophila". Science 267 (pp. 1788–1792).
^ Tomarev, S.I., Callaerts, P., Kos, L., Zinovieva, R., Halder, G., Gehring, W., and Piatigorsky, J. (1997). "Squid Pax-6 and eye development." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94 (pp. 2421–2426).
^ Fernald, Russell D. (2001). The Evolution of Eyes: Why Do We See What We See? Karger Gazette 64: "The Eye in Focus".
^ Fernald, Russell D. (1998). Aquatic Adaptations in Fish Eyes. New York, Springer.
^ Fernald, Russell D. (1997). " The evolution of eyes." Brain Behav Evol. 50 (pp. 253–259).
^ Conway-Morris, S. (1998). The Crucible of Creation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ Miller, Kenneth R. The Flagellum Unspun: The Collapse of "Irreducible Complexity" with reply here
^ Manier, Jeremy Unlocking cell secrets bolsters evolutionists (Chicago Tribune, 2006 Feb 13)
^ Mirsky, Steve Sticker Shock: In the beginning was the cautionary advisory Scientific American, Feb 2005
^ Matt Inlay, 2002. "Evolving Immunity." In TalkDesign.org.
^ Nicholas J. Matzke, 2003. "Evolution in (Brownian) space: a model for the origin of the bacterial flagellum."
^ Mark Pallen and Nicholas J. Matzke, 2006, "From The Origin of Species to the origin of bacterial flagella." Nature Reviews Microbiology, 4(10), 784-790.
^ Shanks, Niall Redundant Complexity:A Critical Analysis of Intelligent Design in Biochemistry
^ Niall Shanks and Karl H. Joplin. Redundant Complexity:A Critical Analysis of Intelligent Design in Biochemistry. East Tennessee State University.
^ Lenski RE, Ofria C, Pennock RT, Adami C (2003). "The evolutionary origin of complex features". Nature 423 (6936): 139-44. PMID 12736677.
^ Press release University of Oregon, April 4, 2006.
^ M. Brazeau and P. Ahlberg (January 19, 2006). "Tetrapod-like middle ear architecture in a Devonian fish". Nature 439 (7074): 318-321. doi:10.1038/nature04196.
^ Finding Darwin's God Kenneth Miller. Harper Collins, 1999
^ 36 Human-Competitive Results Produced by Genetic Programming
^ Michael Behe. Evidence for Intelligent Design from Biochemistry. 1996.[2]
^ Index to Creationist Claims. Mark Isaak. The Talk.Origins Archive. "Irreducible complexity and complex specified information are special cases of the "complexity indicates design" claim; they are also arguments from incredulity." [3] "The argument from incredulity creates a god of the gaps." [4]
^ Eugenie C. Scott and Glenn Branch, "Intelligent Design" Not Accepted by Most Scientists, National Center for Science Education website, September 10, 2002.
^ IC and Evolution makes the point that: if "irreducible complexity" is tautologically redefined to allow a valid argument that intelligent design is the correct explanation for life then there is no such thing as "irreducible complexity" in the mechanisms of life; while, if we use the unmodified original definition then "irreducible complexity" has nothing whatever to do with evolution.

Barbara Carroll Forrest, PhD. is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. ... For other uses, see May (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Henry Hallam (July 9, 1777 - January 21, 1859) was an English historian. ... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ... Henry M. Morris Henry Madison Morris, Ph. ... Barbara Carroll Forrest, PhD. is a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side web development. ... Michael J. Behe (born January 18, 1952, in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. ... Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ... Jonathan D. Sarfati (born October 1, 1964) is a creationist who was trained as a scientist. ... Answers in Genesis (AiG) is a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry with a particular focus on Young Earth creationism and a literal, or plain,[1] interpretation of the first chapters of Genesis. ... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ... Richard E. Lenski (born August 13, 1956) is an American evolutionary biologist. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ...

Additional references

Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a 1996 and 2006 book published by Free Press and written by Michael J. Behe in which he argues that many biochemical systems are irreducibly complex, and thus the result of intelligent design rather than evolutionary processes. ... is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Discover Magazine is a science magazine that publishes articles about science. ...

External links

The Discovery Institute is a think tank based in Seattle, Washington best known for its advocacy of intelligent design and its Teach the Controversy campaign to teach creationist beliefs in United States public high school science courses. ... The Discovery Institute is a think tank based in Seattle, Washington best known for its advocacy of intelligent design and its Teach the Controversy campaign to teach creationist beliefs in United States public high school science courses. ... talk. ... For other uses, see Intelligent design (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see New Yorker. ... // The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... THIS IS A FACT Creation is a doctrinal position in many religions and philosophical belief systems which maintains that a single God, or a group of or deities is responsible for creating the universe. ... 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Theistic realism is a philosophical justification for intelligent design proposed by Phillip E. Johnson in his book, Reason in the Balance. ... An intelligent designer, also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life and who supposedly has left scientific evidence of this intelligent design. ... A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ... Creation science is the attempt to find scientific evidence that would justify a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation. ... Creationist cosmologies are pseudoscientific arguments by various creationists that a significant portion of the observable universe is a few thousands of years old, and as such, run contrary to the Big Bang Theory, which states that all of the universe is billions of years old. ... 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Modern geocentrism is a belief currently held by certain groups such as the Association for Biblical Astronomy, which publishes the Biblical Astronomer and hosts a website [1], that Earth is the center of the universe and does not move - basically the ancient Ptolemaic conception. ... A rendered picture of the Flat Earth model. ... The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. ... The history of creationism is tied to the history of religions. ... The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal, political, and religious circles. ... Teach the Controversy is the name of a Discovery Institute intelligent design campaign to promote intelligent design creationism while discrediting evolution in United States public high school science courses. ...

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