What is intelligent design? How does it differ from other contemporary origin theories? Intelligent design is the relatively young theory of how there may be more to the origin of our, and every, species then just a collection of random chaotic event. Darwin insisted in his theory of natural of natural selection; that individuals, amongst various species, with optimal survival traits would outlast and thrive in contrast to those with less beneficial traits. Lamarck, father of evolution theory, would have believed these traits would have been slowly formed due to necessity and bred down through generations. Now, of course, modern technology has greatly enhanced the understanding of genetics, evolution is considered not just to be caused by environment
…show more content…
Behe desires to show us that far more than just natural selection is in play in the evolutionary process, he does this through the view of the electron microscope. Darwin could have been forgiven for not seeing the microscopic differences in biological structures whilst he worked on his observations and studies. It is easy to see how Darwin could have imagined that legs or arms would have been closely related to wings or fins; Behe attempts to render this line of thought obsolete, this explanation is too simplistic for the complex structures existing in biology. Again this is where Behe argues in favour of an intelligent designer, though this evidence does very little to support the theory as it only proves that the biological microstructures that make up life as incredibly complex. Darwin understood that his theory was a fragile one “if it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down” (Pearcey, 2004). Behe raises a strong argument that suggests the simplistic explanation Darwin gives is not enough to understand the secrets of our origin. Behe uses the term irreducible complexity, meaning the lowest level of complexity that is essential for integrated systems to be able to function. Here Behe introduces us to the mouse-trap. If a mouse-trap is to work effectively, all of its parts must be correctly positioned correctly and must also function correctly if it is to do what is required, kill mice. Darwin’s theory would argue that natural selection would slowly make improvements to this system. Behe however claims that such changes would be unnecessary and maybe even hinder the structure
Behe desires to show us that far more than just natural selection is in play in the evolutionary process, he does this through the view of the electron microscope. Darwin could have been forgiven for not seeing the microscopic differences in biological structures whilst he worked on his observations and studies. It is easy to see how Darwin could have imagined that legs or arms would have been closely related to wings or fins; Behe attempts to render this line of thought obsolete, this explanation is too simplistic for the complex structures existing in biology. Again this is where Behe argues in favour of an intelligent designer, though this evidence does very little to support the theory as it only proves that the biological microstructures that make up life as incredibly complex. Darwin understood that his theory was a fragile one “if it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down” (Pearcey, 2004). Behe raises a strong argument that suggests the simplistic explanation Darwin gives is not enough to understand the secrets of our origin. Behe uses the term irreducible complexity, meaning the lowest level of complexity that is essential for integrated systems to be able to function. Here Behe introduces us to the mouse-trap. If a mouse-trap is to work effectively, all of its parts must be correctly positioned correctly and must also function correctly if it is to do what is required, kill mice. Darwin’s theory would argue that natural selection would slowly make improvements to this system. Behe however claims that such changes would be unnecessary and maybe even hinder the structure