{"id":69532,"date":"2019-01-23T22:35:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T05:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=69532"},"modified":"2019-01-26T15:41:12","modified_gmt":"2019-01-26T22:41:12","slug":"some-notes-on-evolution-values-and-possible-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/01\/some-notes-on-evolution-values-and-possible-design.html","title":{"rendered":"Some notes on evolution, values, and possible “design”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Trilobites were very well adapted to their environment for a very long time,, so on precisely what scientific grounds does Richard Dawkins judge squirrels or humpback whales or humans to be \u201cbetter\u201d?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNatural selection . . . has lifted life from primeval simplicity to the dizzy heights of complexity, beauty and apparent design that dazzle us today.\u201d \u00a0(Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion<\/em> [Mariner Books, 2008], 99)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commenting on this very passage, the atheist writer Curtis White says \u201cEven if we were to take Dawkins\u2019s enthusiasm seriously, shouldn\u2019t we at least ask, what do you mean by \u2018lifted\u2019? \u00a0Is it that you think it\u2019s better<\/em> to be human than a primordially simple trilobite or dinosaur? \u00a0Why? \u00a0Why is \u201ccomplexity\u201d a good thing? \u00a0You say, \u2018Evolution is not just true, it\u2019s beautiful,\u2019 but what do you mean by \u2018beauty\u2019?\u201d \u00a0(Curtis White, The Science Delusion: Asking the Big Questions in a Culture of Easy Answers<\/em> [Brooklyn and London: Melville Books, 2014], 17.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m reminded of a remark from Albert Einstein, himself a scientist of some repute: \u00a0\u201cScience can only ascertain what\u00a0<\/span>is<\/em>, but not what\u00a0<\/span>should be<\/em>, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

To put it another way, science can tell us how things came to be, how things work, and how to do things, but it can\u2019t tell us what things to do or whether those things are good or beautiful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I freely admit it: \u00a0I\u2019m very interested in the arguments advanced by the \u201cintelligent design\u201d movement.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, in that light, I\u2019ve enjoyed the exchange to which I supply links below, and I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if some of you were to enjoy it as well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But first, here are some notes on the players:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Klinghoffer is an Orthodox Jewish author and essayist, based in the Seattle area, who is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute<\/a>. \u00a0He formerly wrote a regular column for the weekly Jewish newspaper The Forward<\/em> and is still an occasional contributor there. \u00a0He\u00a0writes frequently for National Review.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kevin D. Williamson\u00a0is an American conservative political commentator who is currently a roving correspondent for\u00a0National Review<\/i><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Michael J. Behe (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania)\u00a0is an American\u00a0biochemist and\u00a0author who\u00a0serves as a professor of biochemistry at\u00a0Lehigh University\u00a0in\u00a0Pennsylvania and is a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute.<\/p>\n

Wesley J. Smith\u00a0is an American lawyer, bioethicist, and author and a Senior Fellow at the\u00a0Discovery Institute\u2019s Center on Human Exceptionalism.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here followeth the play:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Klinghoffer (17 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cThe Ultimate Question of Life\u2019s Origins\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kevin D. Williamson (18 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cIrreducible Perplexity\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Klinghoffer (20 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cMore Than a Technical Debate\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kevin D. Williamson (22 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cAuthority Figures\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wesley J. Smith (22 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cStifling the Intelligent Design Debate Is Bad Science\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Michael Behe (23 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cOn Intelligent Design, Do Your Own Homework. Make Up Your Own Mind.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Klinghoffer (23 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cMichael Behe\u2019s Marshall McLuhan Moment\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Klinghoffer (23 January 2019): \u00a0\u201cSelf-Induced Blindness: Round 3 with Kevin Williamson\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cNatural selection . . . has lifted life from primeval simplicity to the dizzy heights of complexity, beauty and apparent design that dazzle us today.\u201d \u00a0(Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion [Mariner Books, 2008], 99) \u00a0 Commenting on this very passage, the atheist writer Curtis White says \u201cEven if we were to take Dawkins\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1806,2944,249,123,2947,2941,255],"class_list":["post-69532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-darwin","tag-david-klinghoffer","tag-evolution","tag-intelligent-design","tag-kevin-williamson","tag-natural-selection","tag-naturalism"],"yoast_head":"\nSome notes on evolution, values, and possible "design"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    "Natural 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