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===The Capacity of Unintelligent Material Causes===

===The Capacity of Unintelligent Material Causes===

Unintelligent material causes consist simply of the interactions of the properties of matter, energy and the forces.  These interactions are generally governed by the laws of chemistry and physics, such as the laws of motion and thermodynamics.  These causes do not have the capacity to “know” the environment within which they exist and then seek to change it for a particular future purpose.  In other words, as stated by they lack forward looking "foreknowledge. . . only an intelligent mind, one with the capacity for forethought, can have purpose.”<ref>“Darwin's immeasurably important contribution to science was to show how mechanistic causes could also explain all biological phenomena, despite their apparent evidence of design and purpose. By coupling undirected, purposeless variation to the blind, uncaring process of natural selection, Darwin made theological or spiritual explanations of the life processes superfluous. ......Darwin undid the essentialism that Western philosophy had inherited from Plato and Aristotle, and put variation in its place. He helped to replace a static conception of the world with the vision of a world of ceaseless change. Above all, his theory of random, purposeless variation acted on by blind, purposeless natural selection provided a revolutionary new kind of answer to almost all questions that begin with "Why?"  It cannot be sufficiently emphasized that before Darwin, both philosophers and people in general answered "Why?" questions by citing purpose. Only an intelligent mind, one with the capacity for forethought, can have purpose.  Thus questions like "Why do plants have flowers?" or "Why are there apple trees?"? or plagues, or storms? were answered by imagining the possible purpose that God could have had in creating them.” Douglas J. Futuyma, '''Evolutionary Biology''', Third Edition,(Sinauer Associates, Inc. 1998) p. 5, 8.</ref>   

Unintelligent material causes consist simply of the interactions of the properties of matter, energy and the forces.  These interactions are generally governed by the laws of chemistry and physics, such as the laws of motion and thermodynamics.  These causes do not have the capacity to “know” the environment within which they exist and then seek to change it for a particular future purpose.  In other words, as stated by evolutionary biologist '''Douglas J. Futuyma''', they lack forward looking "foreknowledge. . . only an intelligent mind, one with the capacity for forethought, can have purpose.”<ref>“Darwin's immeasurably important contribution to science was to show how mechanistic causes could also explain all biological phenomena, despite their apparent evidence of design and purpose. By coupling undirected, purposeless variation to the blind, uncaring process of natural selection, Darwin made theological or spiritual explanations of the life processes superfluous. ......Darwin undid the essentialism that Western philosophy had inherited from Plato and Aristotle, and put variation in its place. He helped to replace a static conception of the world with the vision of a world of ceaseless change. Above all, his theory of random, purposeless variation acted on by blind, purposeless natural selection provided a revolutionary new kind of answer to almost all questions that begin with "Why?"  It cannot be sufficiently emphasized that before Darwin, both philosophers and people in general answered "Why?" questions by citing purpose. Only an intelligent mind, one with the capacity for forethought, can have purpose.  Thus questions like "Why do plants have flowers?" or "Why are there apple trees?"? or plagues, or storms? were answered by imagining the possible purpose that God could have had in creating them.” Douglas J. Futuyma, '''Evolutionary Biology''', Third Edition,(Sinauer Associates, Inc. 1998) p. 5, 8.</ref>   

Material causes are to nature as thoughts are to a dead man.  The past, present and future is irrelevant to material causes for they can’t comprehend it. Unintelligent material causes are not merely blind watchmakers, they are mindless, purposeless, and meaningless. Lacking a mind, they lack the capacity to “make” anything.  Unintelligent material causes can adequately account for physical systems like the occurrence of rocks, rivers, wind and rain.  However, it is not clear how they account for time-dependent living systems or themselves.

Material causes are to nature as thoughts are to a dead man.  The past, present and future is irrelevant to material causes for they can’t comprehend it. Unintelligent material causes are not merely blind watchmakers, they are mindless, purposeless, and meaningless. Lacking a mind, they lack the capacity to “make” anything.  Unintelligent material causes can adequately account for physical systems like the occurrence of rocks, rivers, wind and rain.  However, it is not clear how they account for time-dependent living systems or themselves.