Could I see some ID

There is a movement underway to revamp the public school science curriculum to include the theory of Intelligent Design (ID) along side the theory of evolution. Evolution is a theory that life began very simply and became complex over time, adapting to the environment through natural selection. Intelligent design states that the best explanation for the existence of life is through an intelligent designer rather than through evolutionary means.

Recently the school district of Dover Pennsylvania required biology teachers to read a statement to their students stating the controversial nature of evolution and positing ID as an alternative. They are also required to direct them to the book Of Pandas and People as a reference. The ACLU challenged the move in a lawsuit claiming the policy violates the principle of separation of church and state. Seven teachers in the district also objected to the policy stating that it violate their professional standards and practices code. The district has since relaxed the policy, providing exemptions for teachers that have objections. The students, however, will still be required to hear the statement.

This is one battle in an ideological war that dates back to Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925 is perhaps the most famous episode in this conflict. The Tennessee legislature passed the Butler Act, a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution. John Scopes, a Tennessee biology teacher, was charged and convicted of violating the statute. The charges were later dismissed on a technicality and Scopes was never retried. Since then, laws have been enacted in many states banning the teaching of evolution or requiring the teaching of creationism, a belief that life is created by God, in science classrooms.

The problem with teaching creationism in science class is that it is a religious belief, not a scientific theory. There would be little controversy if it were taught in a comparative religion class as opposed to a biology class. One of the criticisms of Intelligent design is that it is simply a secular version of creationism;the creationist are trying to sneak their ideology into the classroom in the guise of science.

I have had experience with Intelligent Design philosophy. I attended a lecture given by a proponent of ID. He was an intelligent person with a scientific background. His arguments were mainly about the idea of irreducible complexity, which states that there is a point at which, if we reduce the complexity of a system, it will cease to function. Therefore, it could not have evolved incrementally to its current state. This is a well reasoned argument, though I have since seen some compelling refutations. The argument breaks down when the leap is made that a designer must have created the system.

My problem with Intelligent Design is that, like creationism, it is not scientific. It bases many of its arguments on pointing out flaws in evolution. Negative reasoning is not proof. If we intend to teach our children science, lets teach them science. Biology is a thoroughly researched discipline and one of its underpinnings is evolutionary theory. The theory of evolution has a vast body of evidence gathered through observation and experimentation and published in peer reviewed scientific journals. I was only able to find a few items published on ID in peer reviewed journals. They were either published under questionable circumstance, thoroughly refuted by the scientific community, or both.

The arguments over the validity of Intelligent Design are too numerous to be expanded upon in this article. For those who wish to research it further:

Proponents:
The Intelligent Design Network
The Discovery Institute

Critics:
Answers to Creationism
Skeptics Dictionary