iDesign at UCI: An Interesting Question

iDesign @ UCI

Welcome Message To New Students

Interested in Origins?
Join the club.

MISSION STATEMENT:

iDesign Club at UCI seeks to foster scientific discussions regarding the origins of life and the universe. Theories such as Darwinian evolution, intelligent design, and creationism will be critically analyzed.

FAQ:

Q: WHAT IS THIS CLUB ABOUT?

Origins! We are interested in discussing alternative theories to the origins of biological structures. While the current mainstream theory in academia is Darwinian evolution, we would also like to discuss other viable ideas, such as intelligent design.

Q: WHO CAN BE A MEMBER OF THIS CLUB?

Anybody! Students of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Anthropology, and Philosophy may especially find this club intriguing. However, you do not need to have a science background to be an effective member of this club.

Q: WHEN AND WHERE ARE CLUB MEETINGS?

Please check blog entries for time and place.

Q: WHAT IS THE MEMBERSHIP FEE?

Nothing! There are no membership dues.

Q: IS THIS CLUB BIASED TOWARDS ONE SPECIFIC THEORY OF ORIGINS?

Perhaps. Ponder the name of this club. This club is ideologically the mirror of another club at UCI, the Students for Science and Skepticism. However, our main goal is to give a balanced view of the controversy regarding the origins of life so that students can come to an informed conclusion themselves.

Q: WHAT DOES THE LETTER "i" STAND FOR IN iDESIGN?

Good question -- the answer is intelligent.

Q: WHERE IS THE CLUB CONSTITUTION?

We adhere to the minimum constitution that was provided by the Dean of Students. In the future, we plan to draft a comprehensive constitution and bylaws.

Q: IS iDESIGN AFFILIATED WITH ANY ORGANIZATION?

No. However, we are friends with the IDEA Center

ORGANIZATION:

PRESIDENT:
Arthur
Information and Computer Science

VICE PRESIDENT:
Brian
Biology / English

DIRECTOR:
Andrew
English / Economics

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

An Interesting Question

I asked this question in one of my classes today:

"How can nature's laws explain the origin of nature?"

Posted by Art at 8:14 PM

4 Comments:

Christian Prophet said...

I think it's fine that scientists think they have a methodology for eventually explaining everything. The Holy Spirit's direct messages on both the Christian Prophet blog and another blog I've been reading, the Holy Inheritance blog, seem to indicate that there really is a science which explains miracles. The holy spirit calls modern day science very, very primitive, and says there is no reason to attempt to explain spiritual matters in terms of this primitive science. But there is reason to study the science of miracles.

2/01/2006 12:55 PM

Art said...

ACP,

The comment you made does not seem to be particularly relevant to the question I posed.

2/01/2006 1:23 PM

Doctor Logic said...

What is an explanation? An explanation is a rule of cause and effect that shows why an a state of affairs must be the case. It is not enough to state some rule that is merely consistent with the observed state of affairs.

A state of affairs is inexplicable when no rules of implication (natural law) can be found that preferentially predict what you observe.

If you can find no rule, or if your proposed rule acts from causes that unobservable in principle, then you don't have an explanation.

Bottom line: if your explanation isn't predictive, then it's not an explanation at all. Therefore, it is impossible to explain something about the world without creating a scientific theory of that thing (I regard mathematics as a form of science).

As to your question, what does it mean to explain the origin of Nature? If Nature includes all of time (as the Big Bang Theory would have it), then the origin of Nature is akin to the origin of a geometric structure (e.g., the corner of a cube). How do you explain the origin of a cube? At best, you can say that the law that describes mathematical cubes is only consistent when cubes have corners.

Likewise, any theory of Nature must incorporate falsifiable theories that predict that the universe and its history look the way they do. The Big Bang Theory does precisely that.

In short, the answer to your question is that the only possible explanations of anything are predictive Natural laws, so either Nature can explain itself or it is utterly inexplicable.

2/03/2006 1:48 PM

Art said...

Hi Dr. Logic,

Thanks for posting here.

Nature cannot explain its own origin. That is tautological.

I agree that the origin of nature is "inexplicable" if one limits oneself to natural causes.

That is why we have to appeal to metaphysics as the cause for the natural world (a First Cause). There is no way around this conclusion if one accepts that nature had a beginning.

2/03/2006 3:55 PM

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PRO-DESIGN SITES:

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Panda's Thumb
Talk Origins
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NAS: Science and Creationism

PRO-CREATION SITES:

Answers in Genesis
Institute for Creation Research
A.E. Wilder Smith
Reasons to Believe
Baraminology News
CreationWiki

OTHER INTERESTING SITES:

American Scientific Affiliation
Richard Sternberg

ANTEATER LINKS:

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