For fresh and careful thinking about intelligent design, readers might consider a set of recent presentations by CSC Senior Fellows Doug Axe, Bill Dembski, and Bruce Gordon. The trio presented their work on intelligent design at the Evangelical Philosophical Society annual meeting in San Diego last fall. Along with David Haines, they hosted the 2.5-hour conversation on “Science, Mathematics, and Technology.” The event was moderated by CSC Fellow John Bloom and organized by CSC Fellow Melissa Cain Travis.
Each speaker presented his work in turn, followed by an extended Q&A session. Bill Dembski led by explaining rigorous means to detect design, including a refined understanding of specified complexity (based on the second edition of The Design Inference). Bruce Gordon followed by showing that design can be detected in the fine-tuning of the universe and that, indeed, the case for design is overwhelming in this area. Doug Axe then examined design in biology, highlighting in particular the inability of natural selection to overcome the improbabilities that hamper random chance. Finally, David Haines rounded out the discussion with broader reflections on the relationship between intelligent design and natural theology.
For readers interested in the latest thinking on ID, this is an excellent place to look: