Intelligent Design of the Universe
The search for knowledge about the origin of humanity is as old as
its inhabitants. Since the early 1800's mankind has narrowed the debate
to creation by a Supreme Being and the theory of evolution. Ever since
then, science has been at odds against religion. Now it appears that
science is returning to religion. Scientists are finding proof that
the universe was created by a Supreme Being. The word evolution refers
to the change of something over a period of time(Webster's 634). In
biology, the theory of evolution is "the complex of processes by which
living organisms originated on earth and have been diversified and modified
through sustained changes in form and function"(Valentine). This theory
proposes that between 4 million and 10 million years ago, all organisms
on earth had a common ancestor and that through a process of evolution,
all living organisms descended from this common ancestor(Coyne). Chevalier
de Lamarck, a French naturalist proposed a theory of evolution in 1809.
His idea did not get much scientific consideration until Charles R.
Darwin announced his theory of evolution(Coyne). Darwin published "his
most famous book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection"(Valentine)
in 1859. Darwin stated that offspring resemble their parents, yet they
are not exactly identical to them. He also noted that some of these
differences were not effects of their environment, but actually were
passed down from parents to children(Valentine).
Darwin is the most well known scientist to write on evolution. There
are many different variations on the theory of evolution. Darwin states
that natural selection is the main reason for the evolution of life.
The fight for food, water and other necessities benefits those creatures
who are well adapted for the struggle. Those that cannot survive, die
with no offspring to continue their genetic line. Natural selection
is also called survival of the fittest. Another related idea to evolution
is gradualism. "Gradualism is the idea that evolutionary changes do
not occur suddenly but over large amounts of time, ranging from decades
to millions of years"(Coyne). Genetic drift is another way that scientists
define evolution. When two of a species mate, their offspring gets 23
chromosomes from both parents. When a gene does not split and combine
correctly, a mutation occurs. This mutation will get passed down from
the creature to its offspring. In this way a species can permanently
be changed(Coyne).
Scientists who have accepted the general theory of evolution as fact
disagree among themselves about the ratio of importance between natural
selection and genetic drift. They also disagree about what caused the
apparent gaps in fossil layers. New species "abruptly"(Valentine) appear
in the fossil record with no apparent mutation from another species,
then remain unchanged for long periods of time. They do not seem to
exhibit the gradual changes that would be expected by modern evolutionists(Valentine).
Many people, including those in the scientific community, do not accept
the theory of evolution as fact. When Darwin was alive, his theory was
attacked by many scientists and religious leaders(Coyne). In the 1900's,
United States public high schools began teaching evolution in science
classes. By the 1920's, laws in twenty states to ban the teaching of
evolution in public schools had been proposed by people who did not
want their children being indoctrinated. "They considered the teaching
of the theory to be part of a dangerous trend toward the separation
of religious beliefs from everyday life"(Coyne). Several of the proposed
laws were passed into effect in states including Arkansas and Tennessee.
"The ACLU challenged the Tennessee law in 1925 by defending a teacher
named John T. Scopes, who had volunteered to stand trial on the charge
of teaching evolution"(Coyne). The ACLU lost the case but because of
bad press, creationists appeared ignorant to science. However, in 1968
the Supreme Court of the United States "ruled that laws banning the
teaching of evolution were unconstitutional because they made religious
considerations part of the curriculum"(Coyne). The courts continue to
give rulings on creation and evolution in schools, some have come as
recently as 1987(Coyne). The fight to keep evolution out of the classroom
is still persevering. Those who are pushing to keep evolution out of
the public schools are primarily creationists. Creation is the belief
that a Supreme Being created the universe and all its contents from
nothing (Vawter). Many different people have believed different stories
of how and why this was accomplished. Judaism, Christianity and Islam
are a few of the major faiths that teach Creation.
There are many differences in what different people believe. Many
Jews and Christians with a literal interpretation of the Bible or the
Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, believe that God created
the universe and all that is in it in six 24 hour days. They believe
that each species on earth has remained relatively the same since the
Creation. These people "base their beliefs on the Bible"(Eve) and some
use fossil evidence of long consistencies and abrupt changes(Valentine).
Others believe that God created everything, but not in six days. Still
others believe that God created the universe by lighting the fuse: the
big bang was God's way of creating the universe. Many people have gone
in search for proof that the universe was created by a Supreme Being.
The case for Intelligent Design was argued by Reverend William Paley
of Carlisle, England in his 1802 book, "Natural Theology".
Take, for instance, a rock and a watch. How old are the two objects?
The rock has "remained more or less the same perhaps since the earth
was formed"(Miller 24). The watch is different because of the intricate
gears, springs and parts. It was produced with a specific design and
knowledge of the watchmaker, and watchmakers have not been around forever.
Paley knew "there cannot be design without a designer; contrivance without
a contriver.... The marks of design are too strong to be disregarded.
Design must have had a designer. That designer must have been a being.
That being is God"(Miller).
Paley's examples are understandable examples that form "a line of reasoning
known as the 'argument from design'"(Miller). Even some evolutionists
have come to realize that humanity is not an accident, even if they
disagree with the six, 24 hour days belief. The Anthropic Principle
is based on so called "technical observations about the evolution of
the universe since the Big Bang"(Glynn 28). This principle has concluded
that not only was the creation of the universe not an accident, but
"the existence of human life is something for which the entire universe
appears to have been intricately fine-tuned from the start"(28). This
principle is based on universal constants such as Planck's constant
and the gravitational constant. It started out as a list of coincidences,
but as the list grew the more it appeared as if the universe had been
designed for humanity to exist(29).
The second law of thermodynamics has been extensively studied by scientists
and people as another proof of creation. The second law of thermodynamics
can be stated: "The thermodynamic principle which governs the behavior
of systems is that, as they are moved away from equilibrium, they will
utilize all avenues available to counter the applied gradients. As the
applied gradients increase, so does the system's ability to oppose further
movement from equilibrium" (Schneider 30). In every system, the entropy,
or disorder, will increase, not decrease. The following is one of a
number of different analogies to simplify this law. There is a box with
ten equal compartments. Ten thousand marbles are released into one compartment.
If the box is randomly shaken, it is expected that the marbles would
pass through the open doors in each compartment and there would be approximately
1000 marbles in each compartment. It is highly improbable, yet not impossible
that if the box continued to be shaken randomly, that all the marbles
would go back into the same compartment they started in(28). The second
law of thermodynamics is an excellent argument for creation. Creationists
stand in "awe of the perfection of the earth... If it were a little
farther away from the sun the entire planet would be one gigantic Antarctica;
if it were a little closer, it would be one continuous Sahara Desert.
Earth's placement is precise; and that, my friends, is not a result
of chance"(Limbaugh 154). There are infinite numbers of variables. If
one were changed just slightly, like the distance from the sun, Earth
would be uninhabitable and humans would not exist. This preciseness
leads these people to use the second law of thermodynamics as an argument.
An ordered world like Earth could not exist in a universe that was created
by an explosion. Humanity itself is a good example for creation. The
differences between other animals in nature and humans are vast. However,
many evolutionists claim that we are animals ourselves. Jonathan Swift
shows the absurdity of this comparison in the fourth book of Gulliver's
Travels. Gulliver is living between two extremes: the reason based Houyhnhms
and the savage Yahoos. Gulliver tries so hard to fit in with the Houyhnhms,
or horses. They "conclude that Gulliver 'must be a perfect Yahoo'"(Suits
116), yet Gulliver believes that he is more Houyhnhm. This struggle
can represent the origin struggle. The evolutionists say that humans
were once like the Yahoos, but by saying that humanity evolved because
of a haphazard accident, they are claiming that humans are now the superior
being in the universe. They claim we are like the Houyhnhms(Sagan).
Humans are not like that. The Houyhnhms are divorced of passion. "They
have no shame, no temptations, no conception of sin"(Williams 62). Marriage
is "'one of the necessary actions in a reasonable being'"(63). These
definitely do not identify humanity. Gulliver "understands none of this"(72).
Humans have the ability to use reason and humans have certain inherent
desires that cannot be reasonably explained: love, marriage, and a sense
of right and wrong. Still the debate continues. It seems "the double
standard at work here is breathtaking"(Glynn 32). Scientists who believe
in evolution are free to use detailed accounts of what happened 4 billion
years ago and base it on Darwin(Sagan). "But the moment scientists begin
marshaling rather considerable and persuasive evidence for the opposite
case, their speculation risks being branded by colleagues as 'unscientific'"(Glynn
32). This parallels the third book of Gulliver's Travels. The ways of
the respected Laputan people were very precise, according to Gulliver.
All their wise men reject what seems obviously the best way to perform
a task(Williams 49). Members of the Academy are seen trying to weave
with spider web and make ice into gunpowder(Swift 196). Such acts of
stupidity are Swift's attack on the Royal Society of England in Swift's
time; however they apply perfectly to many of the scientists who reject
what they do not want to see.
The argument about the origin of the universe will definitely continue.
There will be those who argue both sides until this world comes to its
end. To what extent people believe the Biblical teachings or what some
scientists teach is a personal decision. Darwin concluded his book:
"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having
been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one;
and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed
law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful
and most wonderful have been and are being evolved"(Miller 32). The
more science seems to dig and research about the origins of humanity,
the less likely it is that Earth and all the creatures on it were an
accident. All the precision, consistency and detail point to a universal
architect, a Supreme Being, God.
Bibliography:
Coyne, Jerry A. "Evolution." World Book. CD-ROM
Eve, Raymond A. "Creationism" World Book. CD-ROM
Glynn, Patrick. "Beyond The Death of God." National Review May 6,1996:28-32.
Limbaugh, Rush. The Way Things Ought to Be. New York:Pocket Books,
1992.
Miller, Kenneth R. "Life's Grand Design." Technology Review. Feb./March
1994:24-32
CD-ROM. 1996 SIRS. SIRS 1994 Life Science. Article 59
Sagan, Carl. "Snowflakes Fallen on the Hearth: The Evolution of the
Earth." Planetary Report. Jan./Feb. 1993:4-9
CD-ROM. 1996 SIRS. SIRS 1994 Earth Science. Article 53
Schneider, E.D, Kay, J.J. "Life as a Manifestation of the Second Law
of Thermodynamics." Mathematical and Computer Modeling 1994: 25-48.
Suits, Conrad. "The Role of the Horsesin 'A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms.'"
Modern Critical Interpretations, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
Ed. Harold Bloom. New York:Chelsea. 116-125
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. New York:Penguin,1960.
Valentine, James W. "Evolution." Encarta. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp:1994
Vawter, Rev. Bruce. "Creation." Encarta. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp:1994
Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary. Second Edition. 1983
Williams, Kathleen. "Animal Rationis Capax." Modern Critical Interpretations,
Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York:Chelsea.
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