Tag: Philosophy for the People

colorful sunset on top of austrian mountain alps

^{Type
post

Author
Brian Miller

Date
August 28, 2023

Tagged
Albert Einstein, Allen Guth, Ann Gauger, Aristotle, atomists, Brian Miller, Charles Darwin, chemicals, chemistry, cosmology, entropy, Epicureans, eternal cosmic inflation, Evolution, expansino of the universe, fine-tuning, God, God’s Grandeur, infinite, Intelligent Design, Luke Barnes, Materialism, materialism of the gaps, Michael Behe, multiverse, multiverse universe, Natural Selection, Natural Theology, origin of life, P.J. Steinhardt, Pat Flynn, Philosophy, Philosophy for the People, physics, Plato, Sean Carroll, stoics, string landscapes, systems biology, Theism, Thomas Aquinas}

The Return of Natural Theology

_{Brian Miller

August 28, 2023

Uncategorized}

Influenced by a long line of materialist thinkers, Charles Darwin proposed the mechanism of natural selection as a substitute for God. But how does his theory’s explanatory power measure up to recent scientific discoveries? On this ID The Future, physicist Brian Miller discusses the resurgence of natural theology in modern science with Pat Flynn, co-host of the Philosophy for the People podcast. Natural theology advances arguments for God based on reason and the discoveries of science. It’s an ancient pursuit that fell out of favor in the 19th century as a materialist account of life’s origins took center stage. But scientific findings of the last century point to mind, not a mindless process, as the likeliest explanation for a life-friendly universe. As a result, the pendulum is swinging back to teleology, ushering in a new heyday for natural theology. In addition to giving an historical overview of natural theology, Dr. Miller and Flynn also discuss fundamental problems in origin of life studies that demand a better explanation than materialists can offer. Miller speaks plainly about the problem: “Here’s the fundamental challenge,” he says. “All natural processes tend to create greater disorder (entropy)…The origin of life requires chemicals to go into a state of both high order and high energy. That never happens without help!” This is Part 1 of a 2-part discussion. With thanks to Pat Flynn and the Philosophy for the People podcast for permission to share this interview. Read More ›

dog and cat play together. cat and dog lying outside in the yard. kitten sucks dog breast milk. dog and cat best friends. love between animals.

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Behe

Date
August 31, 2022

Tagged
argument from knowledge, cichlid fish, common descent, Darwin Devolves, Darwin’s Black Box, Darwin’s finches, Darwinian Evolution, Darwinism, death before the Fall, devolution, Evolution, evolutionary theory, From the Crust of the Earth, genetic code, genetic information, genus, God, Hawaiian drosophila, Inference to the Best Explanation, Intelligent Design, Lake Victoria, macroevolution, Matthew Ramage, Michael Behe, Microevolution, Molecular Machines, Natural Selection, Naturalism, Pat Flynn, Philosophy for the People, Pope Benedict, proofs of God, purposeful arrangement of parts, random variation, Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth, Thomas Aquinas, Thomism}

Behe and Ramage: Evolution’s Limits and the Fingerprints of Design

_{Michael Behe

August 31, 2022

Uncategorized}

Today’s ID the Future wraps up a debate over evolution and intelligent design between Lehigh University biologist Michael Behe and Benedictine College theologian Michael Ramage. Both Behe and Ramage are Catholic, and they carry on their conversation in the context of Catholic thinking about nature and creation, in particular the work of Thomas Aquinas and contemporary Thomist philosophers. Ramage seeks to integrate his Thomistic/personalist framework with modern evolutionary theory’s commitment to macroevolution and common descent. Behe doesn’t discount the possibility of common descent but lays out a case that any evolution beyond the level of genus (for instance, the separate families containing cats and dogs) cannot be achieved through mindless Darwinian mechanisms and, instead, would require the contributions of a designing intelligence. Behe then summarizes both the negative evidence against the Darwinian mechanism of change and the positive evidence in nature for intelligent design. This debate was hosted by Pat Flynn on his Philosophy for the People podcast, and is reposted here by his permission.