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Author | Topic: Is ID a right wing conspiracy? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
mick Member (Idle past 5013 days) Posts: 913 Joined: |
Proponents of ID argue that the design paradigm offers us a useful way of understanding the natural world, that the design paradigm applies just as much to the biological world as to any other area of science, and that schoolteachers should not refuse to teach it as an alternative to Darwinian natural selection just because it can be interpreted in a religious manner.
Opponents of ID argue that ID is actually a conspiracy to avoid consitutional objections to the official establishment of religion. They argue that proponents of ID are motivated by religious and political inclinations that have no place in the classroom. Furthermore, analysts such as Professor Paul Gross have argued that the ID movement is part of a vast right-wing conspiracy. The position of Professor Gross is backed up by the wedge document, authored by the Discovery Institute, which positions ID as a challenge to the "the specific social consequences of materialism and the Darwinist theory that supports it". In other words, proponents of ID at the Discovery Institute are not concerned with biology per se, but see an attack on Darwinism as the first step in a more general attack on materialistic society and an attempt to replace that society with one based upon "conservative-Christan" moral norms. Although the Discovery Institute describes itself as a "non-partisan" thinktank, it's programs in fields other than biology appear to be toward the right of politics. They are concerned with promoting "economic growth" and freeing economic growth from "the burdens of undue government regulation", "by limiting tax and regulatory barriers to businesses and individuals". Does anybody have any solid evidence that ID is a right wing conspiracy? Who pays for the Discovery Institute and for ARN? Was ID explicitly invented as a way of avoiding the constitutional limitation on the establishment of religion, and if so, where was it invented, when, and by whom? When proponents of ID claim that Darwinist scientists are part of conspiracy to prevent valid ID research being published, we generally ask for evidence that the conspiracy exists. Now it is time for the tables to be turned. Are evolutionary biologists just being paranoid, or inventing the idea of a conspiracy for political or psychological purposes? Or is there any real documentary evidence, over and above the wedge document, of ID as a right wing conspiracy that was invented with a specific political aim? Mick This message has been edited by mick, 06-01-2005 01:21 PM
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Admin Director Posts: 13038 From: EvC Forum Joined: Member Rating: 2.1 |
Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.
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Clark Inactive Member |
This guy, among others:
Howard Ahmanson Jr. - Wikipedia He's connected to Christian Reconstructionism which is a fairly scary concept: Christian reconstructionism - Wikipedia
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DominionSeraph Member (Idle past 4781 days) Posts: 365 From: on High Joined: |
mick writes: Is ID a right wing conspiracy? No. It's merely a concept that's about 0.1% more specific than: "Someone did some thing at some time." Now, it appears that a certain subset of Christians is using ID to further their agenda, as they're not above 'lying for Jesus'. I do find it preferable to the historic method of furthering the Christian agenda: 'killing anyone who disagrees'. This message has been edited by DominionSeraph, 08-01-2005 08:19 PM
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Omnivorous Member Posts: 3990 From: Adirondackia Joined: Member Rating: 6.9 |
Clark links to:
quote: I sympathize with his disorder, but I cannot help envisioning him obscenely ranting about evolutionists to a shocked but galvanized congregation: could be the roots of a conspiracy right there On a more serious note, conspiracy doesn't seem the right word. I think most creationists believe what they say, and the Christian Right's intention of forcing their beliefs on the rest of us is no secret. "Scheme" might be a better fit.
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randman  Suspended Member (Idle past 4926 days) Posts: 6367 Joined: |
Debunking the traditional conceptions of both God and man, thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud portrayed humans not as moral and spiritual beings, but as animals or machines who inhabited a universe ruled by purely impersonal forces and whose behavior and very thoughts were dictated by the unbending forces of biology, chemistry, and environment. This materialistic conception of reality eventually infected virtually every area of our culture, from politics and economics to literature and art Welcome kcfs.org - BlueHost.com I keep hearing about how the Wedge document is evidence that IDers are political, but evolutionists fail to recognize that the Wedge document is simply responding to evolutionists and materialists existing social/political/quasi-religious status. The insistence that we are purely material, and by material, I mean an outdated concept of "material", a Newtonian version already outdated by QM, is a fundamentally religious, social, and political claim of materialists, and the Wedge document is quite right to assert this is a false application of science.
We are building on this momentum, broadening the wedge with a positive scientific alternative to materialistic scientific theories, which has come to be called the theory of intelligent design (ID). I see where materialists in their paradigm see this as a politicized religious attack, but they need to take a step back and consider which side has used the courts to silence it's critics, evolutionists. The history of evolutionism has indeed been social, political, religious, and thus necessitated this type of correction. Imo though, the real issue is that materialists view of what constitutes "material" is outdated. There really is no more need to bash materialist thinking since quantum physics principles already have turned that world upside down. That's how I see it. But either way, to insist that we are only physical, according to outdated concepts of "physical", simply because we lacked the technology to delve into quantum physics and spiritual realms, imo, is a major error of materialists.
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crashfrog Member (Idle past 1494 days) Posts: 19762 From: Silver Spring, MD Joined: |
I keep hearing about how the Wedge document is evidence that IDers are political, but evolutionists fail to recognize that the Wedge document is simply responding to evolutionists and materialists existing social/political/quasi-religious status. Ah, well then, I'm sure you'll be able to link to the evolutionist Wedge document. So why don't you go ahead and do that.
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paisano Member (Idle past 6450 days) Posts: 459 From: USA Joined: |
I see where materialists in their paradigm see this as a politicized religious attack, but they need to take a step back and consider which side has used the courts to silence it's critics, evolutionists. The issue has gotten into the courts because the creationist side has insisted on using their idiosyncratic pseudoscientific views as a vehicle to inject their idiosyncratic religious views into public schools. This is unconstitutional. Creationists are as free as anyone else to not only found private schools, but do something else that should be obvious, if their views had scientific merit: Start their own program of applied science, funded by religious donations. Where is the ID based medical research institute that has produced new drugs or treatments for infectious disease based on applied ID principles? Where is the YEC oil company that has discovered new reserves using YEC geology? Such entities don't exist. Because the "science" doesn't work and has no practical applications. The only thing the DI and ICR have ever produced is polemics. No science, no technology.
There really is no more need to bash materialist thinking since quantum physics principles already have turned that world upside down. That's how I see it. QM deals with physical entities like metals, nuclei, quarks, etc. and has been verified by experimentation with physical systems, so I don't see how it helps your case. It is an entirely physical theory. If anything, it hurts your case. You make a strawman arguemnt against Newtonian deterministic materialism using QM ? It even more strongly refutes the 18th century notions of a need for a "divine watchmaker", by demonstrating that the physical universe has more than enough indeterminacy to accomodate something like evolution.
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kjsimons Member Posts: 822 From: Orlando,FL Joined: Member Rating: 5.3 |
Well it appears that the Shrub wants ID taught in the classroom and he is definitly right leaning and for a more theistic government and country. I don't know if Bush's push for it is organized enough to be called a conspiracy but it is disconcerting to me that our president is pushing for educating the children of America in the pseudo science that is ID.
http://www.wftv.com/education/4797556/detail.html
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jar Member (Idle past 421 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
I wouldn't say that ID is a Right Wing Conspiracy, and actually have very little problem having ID explored in schools. Even a cursory glance at what we find around us would lead to the conclusion that ID stands for Incompetent Design.
Aslan is not a Tame Lion
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Rahvin Member Posts: 4042 Joined: Member Rating: 7.7 |
I certainly don't think it's a true conspiracy, per se.
I think Creationists want their perspective to be taught to their kids in public schools in science class. This helps prevent any secular education from interfering with religious indoctrination, and keeps the parents from needing to have the evolution vs. creation debate at home. Intelligent Design is Creationism-lite. It's the exact same thing, just without specifically naming the Judeo-Christian God. It also has absolutely no scientific merit - it simply says "stuff is too complicated, so God did it." No mechanism, no description of how things came to be. Just a simple "I can't understand it by examining it for a few minutes, so I'll just say God did it." They think that, because it doesn't specifically identify itself with a particular religion, they can slip it in past the seperation of church and state. But it's still not science. It doesn't propose a mechanism. It isn't testable. It's even founded on a logical disconnect - no reason is ever given as to why complex structures need to be designed. This is why there is controversy - Creationists want their Bible-lite in the public science classroom. Scientists foam at the mouth and sputter with incredulity at the thought of allowing something that is blatantly NOT science to be taught in a science classroom. I don't think it's a conspiracy, though. There are some vocal proponents (like Bush), but I still think the major push comes from everyday Creationists who simply want their perspective taught in the classroom. If it wasn't the same as teaching kids something like: The giant flying spaghetti monster created the Earth in three hours last Thursday because the world is so complex only spaghetti can explain it then I wouldn't have an issue. But only science belongs in a science classroom.
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DominionSeraph Member (Idle past 4781 days) Posts: 365 From: on High Joined: |
randman writes: I keep hearing about how the Wedge document is evidence that IDers are political, but evolutionists fail to recognize that the Wedge document is simply responding to evolutionists and materialists existing social/political/quasi-religious status. The insistence that we are purely material, and by material, I mean an outdated concept of "material", a Newtonian version already outdated by QM, is a fundamentally religious, social, and political claim of materialists, and the Wedge document is quite right to assert this is a false application of science. Using Occam's Razor is not religious, social, or political.For example, the 6 invisible pixies that are pushing on the front of my car, and the 6 invisible pixies that are pushing equally hard on the back of my car, get cut by the Razor. They're unneeded additional entities. I'm not saying that they're not there -- I'm simply saying that it doesn't matter. Their existence is irrelevant. That's not a religious, political, or social claim -- it's merely the truth. If we find an area in which the invisible pixies actually affect something, their existence becomes relevant. Again, that would not be a religious, political, or social claim -- it'd merely be the truth.
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brainpan Inactive Member |
ID is definitely a conspiracy. ID was created, or intelligently designed, by a small group of Christians as a political movement to introduce religious philosophy into public science classes. Nothing about it can be condoned, or tacitly excused. The good intentions of many mislead Christians aside, ID is as dishonest as a movement could possibly be. In conclusion, it might be fun to just laugh at ID, but the danger posed by the conspiracy should not be underestimated.
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brainpan Inactive Member |
Paisano wrote:
Good point. Since the name Newton came up, let me add an ironic twist that Newton did just what ID wants modern scientists to do with gaps in knowledge. When Newton couldnt completely explain apparent irregularities in the orbits of planets, he allowed God to step in and nudge them into their "proper" orders. Then that damn "materialist" Einstein came up with some ideas, "only theories" of course, that largely solved the problems Newton encountered.You make a strawman arguemnt against Newtonian deterministic materialism using QM ? It even more strongly refutes the 18th century notions of a need for a "divine watchmaker", by demonstrating that the physical universe has more than enough indeterminacy to accomodate something like evolution. Im sure God was pretty pissed, because Newton put him in charge of pushing the planets a long time ago, and he had been doing a great job of it. It wasnt respectful to force God to scuttle off like that to other dark places like the "improbability of abiogenesis."
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randman  Suspended Member (Idle past 4926 days) Posts: 6367 Joined: |
The breakdown here is the assumption that physical existence, and design are functionally self-existent.
Btw, just as an aside not germane to your point, the use of Occam's Razor in an argument is totally unimpressive. The appeal to Occam's Razor is incredibly over-used, and equally meaningless, but it's not really necessary to make your point so I am not trying to slam your idea for the appeal. It's just, like, you know, awesome, excellent, dude, whatever.... Pet peeve here.
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