Changes

Design detection asks whether an effect or pattern that arose unobserved in the past is due to intelligent or unintelligent material causes.  Is the pattern or effect a design or just an occurrence?

Design detection asks whether an effect or pattern that arose unobserved in the past is due to intelligent or unintelligent material causes.  Is the pattern or effect a design or just an occurrence?

Design detection is used in a variety of sciences including forensic science that investigates the cause of a death or fire.  It is also used in archeology, anthropology, crytanalysis, copyright infringement, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the search for function or purpose in genetic sequences.  It is key to the current debate over the origin of the cosmos and life.  Are these “effects” or patterns that arose long ago the product of an intelligent or material cause?  Are the effects designs, i.e., the result of intelligent manipulation, or just occurrences?

Design detection is used in a variety of sciences including forensic science that investigates the cause of a death or fire.  It is also used in archeology, anthropology, cryptanalysis, copyright infringement, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and the search for function or purpose in genetic sequences.  It is key to the current debate over the origin of the cosmos and life.  Are these “effects” or patterns that arose long ago the product of an intelligent or material cause?  Are the effects designs, i.e., the result of intelligent manipulation, or just occurrences?

The question of causation turns on whether the characteristics of a given pattern or effect are within the capacity of the cause to which it may be attributable.  Do unintelligent material causes have the ability or capacity to account for the occurrence of a replicating cell?  Does Darwinism's unintelligent material causes, consisting of random variation and natural selection, have the capacity to account for the diversity of life once it gets started?  To start the analysis, one should first compare and contrast the capacities of intelligent causes and unintelligent material causes and the kinds of patterns those capacities produce.  

The question of causation turns on whether the characteristics of a given pattern or effect are within the capacity of the cause to which it may be attributable.  Do unintelligent material causes have the ability or capacity to account for the occurrence of a replicating cell?  Does Darwinism's unintelligent material causes, consisting of random variation and natural selection, have the capacity to account for the diversity of life once it gets started?  To start the analysis, one should first compare and contrast the capacities of intelligent causes and unintelligent material causes and the kinds of patterns those capacities produce.