30May 2020 by Post

Why “Humanize”? A New Effort to Defend the Unique Dignity of Human Beings

animal rights, animal welfare, animals, Artificial Intelligence, Center on Human Exceptionalism, China, COVID-19, Culture & Ethics, Darwin Day in America, David Klinghoffer, Discovery Institute, Evolution, Evolution News, facial recognition, Falun Gong, human exceptionalism, Human Zoos, Humanize, humans, John West, La Bella Principessa, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Egnor, quality of life, social credit, Steven J. Buri, The Biology of the Second Reich, Tom Shakely, transhumanism, triage, Uyghurs, Walter Bradley Center, Wesley Smith
Hello. My name is Wesley J. Smith and I am honored to be chairman of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. I am writing to you here to introduce the CHE’s new blog, which we call Humanize. Humanize will complement and supplement the important work of the Center for Science & Culture and its invaluable Evolution News site.  Why did we choose “Humanize” as the name for the site? The once self-evident truth of human exceptionalism is under intensifying attack, as readers of Evolution News know well. Indeed, one of the tragic trends in thinking about evolution has been to blur the distinction between humans and animals. History warns us not to regard this lightly. Recent documentaries by Discovery Institute Vice President John West, Human Zoos and The Biology of…
Read More
21Feb 2020 by Post

I Disagree with David Klinghoffer, But It’s My Fault for the Confusion

Against Method, arthropods, Brian Charlesworth, Cambrian Explosion, Charles Darwin, chordate, David Klinghoffer, Deborah Charlesworth, Douglas Futuyma, Evolution, Extended Evolutionary Synthesis, Galápagos Islands, history, Intelligent Design, Jerry Coyne, Macroevolution, molluscan, natural selection, neo-Darwinian synthesis, Nicholas Barton, organisms, origin of life, Paul Feyerabend, William Paley
In a post yesterday, David Klinghoffer cited my comments in a recent podcast and described his own view that intelligent design could be considered as a theory of evolution, making the point that intelligent design tries to explain the innovations that happened in the history of life (e.g., the origin of life itself, the burst of complexity during the Cambrian explosion, etc.). I’d describe the situation a little differently. Evolution is an implication — that is, an empirical consequence — of design. Design is the more general (i.e., comprehensive) idea, and the well-understood phenomena usually designated as “evolution” are in fact consequences of designed systems undergoing or responding to perturbation. If anything, then, it would be more accurate to say that “evolution is a sub-theory of design,” no matter how…
Read More
30Jan 2020 by Post

Introducing Walter Bradley: Friend, Hero, and Coauthor of The Mystery of Life’s Origin

Artificial Intelligence, Baylor University, Biola University, Brian Miller, Charles Thaxton, David Klinghoffer, Discovery Institute, Douglas Axe, Guillermo Gonzalez, Intelligent Design, James Tour, Jay Richards, John Buell, Jonathan Wells, Reasonable Faith, Rice University, Roger Olsen, Skynet, Stephen Meyer, Terminator franchise, The Privileged Planet, They Mystery of Life's Origin, Undeniable, Walter Bradley, Walter Bradley Center
Editor’s note: The following is adapted from remarks by Robert J. Marks at the 2020 Dallas Conference on Science & Faith. At the event, Stephen Meyer commented that The Mystery of Life’s Origin, by Walter Bradley and his colleagues, new released in an expanded form by Discovery Institute Press, inspired the current generation of leaders in the intelligent design community. Dr. Meyer said it was his hope there were those in the audience who would be similarly moved in the next generation. Dr. Marks concurred. Greetings! I am Robert J. Marks and I am the Director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence. I am also a Distinguished Professor at Baylor University. The Bradley Center is the new kid on the block at Discovery Institute. We are…
Read More