19May 2020 by Post

Thomas Aquinas Weighs in on the Coronavirus and Public Policy

Andrew McDiarmid, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, double effect, Evolution News, health, ID The Future, Medicine, neurosurgeon, pandemic, Podcast, policymakers, political calculations, public policy, science, Thomas Aquinas, transparency, WHO
On a new episode of ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with pediatric neurosurgeon and professor Michael Egnor about public policy decisions regarding the coronavirus. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In a conversation based on a recent article for Evolution News, Egnor says scientists should have “stayed in their lane,” giving policymakers the information that science can provide about a potential pandemic, and left the political calculations alone. He argues that WHO failed in one of its primary jobs, which is providing timely information and recommendations for preventing and slowing the spread of pandemics. They sat on information about COVID-19 for weeks, long after they knew there was a serious problem in China. Egnor also urges policymakers to apply science along with other expert information in a…
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17May 2020 by Post

Why Neo-Darwinism Is Less than a Theory

antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Evolution, gain, ID The Future, information, Ira Berkowitz, Jerusalem, Lee Spetner, MIT, Neo-Darwinism, Not by Chance, physicists, Podcast, propaganda, The Evolution Revolution, Thomas Malthus
On a classic episode of ID the Future from Jerusalem, Ira Berkowitz interviews MIT PhD physicist Lee Spetner. Together they explore key arguments from Spetner’s books Not by Chance and The Evolution Revolution. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Spetner explains why he considers neo-Darwinism less than a theory and offers a surprising take on Thomas Malthus. Spetner also argues that, contrary to Darwinist propaganda, the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria demonstrates a loss of information rather than a gain. Photo: Detail of Darwin statue, Natural History Museum, London, by Rept0n1x (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. The post Why Neo-Darwinism Is Less than a Theory appeared first on Evolution News.
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14May 2020 by Post

COVID-19, Random Mutations, and Aristotle’s Matrix of Design

Andrew McDiarmid, Aristotle, bodies, coronavirus, COVID-19, Evolution News, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Medicine, Michael Egnor, mutations, neurosurgeon, philosophy, Podcast, purpose, random events, viruses
On a new episode of ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor about Dr. Egnor’s recent Evolution News article, “The Coronavirus Demonstrates How Evolution Presupposes Intelligent Design.” Download the podcast or listen to it here. Egnor notes that the coronavirus and other viruses are not, strictly speaking, considered living things, even if they depend on living hosts for their continued existence. Egnor also discusses the role of random mutations in viruses and draws upon Aristotle to argue that these and other random events only occur, and have their meaning, against a backdrop of purpose and design — in this case, the designed systems, the bodies, that viruses invade.  Image: Aristotle, by Francesco Hayez (1811) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. The post COVID-19, Random Mutations, and Aristotle’s Matrix of Design…
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02May 2020 by Post

How Water’s Chemistry Helps Make Life on Earth Possible

biology, Chemistry, earth, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Denton, planetary fine-tuning, Podcast, Privileged Species, The Wonder of Water, water
On a classic episode of ID the Future, we bring you a sample from the documentary Privileged Species arguing that water possesses many unique properties that appear finely tuned to allow for life on Earth. The excerpt dips a toe into what biologist Michael Denton explores in much greater depth in his book The Wonder of Water. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo source: A scene from Privileged Species, via Discovery Institute (screen shot). The post How Water’s Chemistry Helps Make Life on Earth Possible appeared first on Evolution News.
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25Apr 2020 by Post

Michael Denton Explore the Miracle of Air and Sun

air, biochemistry, biology, Children of Light, cosmos, Discovery Institute, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Michael Denton, planetary fine-tuning, sunlight
A classic episode of ID the Future shines a light on Discovery Institute biochemist Michael Denton’s book, Children of Light: The Astonishing Properties of Sunlight that Make Us Possible. Denton explores the properties of sun and air. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In Children of Light, Denton shows how sun and air are crucial parts of the larger story of our fine-tuned place in the cosmos. Or as he puts it in the book, “Whatever the cause and whatever the ultimate explanation, nature appears to be fine-tuned to an astonishing degree for beings of our biology.” Photo credit: Ingmar H on Unsplash. The post Michael Denton Explore the Miracle of Air and Sun appeared first on Evolution News.
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19Apr 2020 by Post

Jay Richards: Warfare Thesis Ignores the Roots of Science

Center for Science & Culture, Faith & Science, ID The Future, Jay Richards, Judeo-Christian culture, materialism, Podcast, religion, Robert Crowther, science, Warfare Thesis
On a classic episode of ID the Future, Center for Science & Culture Director of Communications Rob Crowther interviews CSC Senior Fellow Jay Richards. Listen in as Richards rebuts the warfare thesis — the idea that religion and science are antagonists — and argues that historically, Judeo-Christian culture “was the seedbed from which science emerged.” Has science missed out by being partnered with materialism? Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Jay Richards in a scene from “Why Materialism Fails,” via Discovery Institute. The post Jay Richards: Warfare Thesis Ignores the Roots of Science appeared first on Evolution News.
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04Apr 2020 by Post

Why Not Darwinian Medicine?

antibiotic resistance, biology, Darwinism, Evolution, evolutionary theory, healthcare, ID The Future, Jonathan Wells, medical students, Medicine, Podcast, Ray Bohlin, The Myth of Darwinian Medicine (series)
Editor’s note: As biologist Jonathan Wells observes, “[T]he measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.” Yet a persistent claim from evolutionists is that medical research would be crippled without a Darwinian framework. Evolution News presents a series of our previously published work addressing the myth of “Darwinian medicine.” On an episode of ID the Future, host Ray Bohlin interviews fellow biologist Jonathan Wells about the interaction of evolutionary theory and medicine. Has Darwinism furthered healthcare? What about our understanding of antibiotic resistance? And might learning about evolution become a requirement for medical students? Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Doctor draws blood from a patient while explaining the importance of evolution for his healing practice, by Linda Bartlett [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.…
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01Apr 2020 by Post

Viruses: An Intelligent Design Perspective

ACS Nano, Apollo moon landings, bacteria, bacteriophages, buckyballs, capsid, cell machinery, cell membrane, COVID-19, crystals, DNA, Elizabeth Pennisi, icosahedron, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Iqbal Pittalwala, lipid bilayer, Medicine, Michael Behe, molecular motor, nano-vehicles, polyhedron, protein, Purdue University, RNA, Roya Zandi, SARS-CoV-2, Science (journal), snowflakes, T4 virus, U.C. Riverside, U.C. San Diego, vaccine, viral genome, viruses
The COVID-19 virus is on a rampage in the world, killing thousands in the U.S. so far, shutting down whole countries’ economies, and possibly altering aspects of modern life for the future, after the virus has waned. What the complete impact will be is of course unknowable. In the meantime, though, questions arise about this and other, related sub-microscopic entities. Viruses seem so evil. What is their place in life? And like other aspects of nature, do they give evidence of intelligent design? Certainly, in a context of global anxiety, this is a subject that needs to be approached with sensitivity and humility. It isn’t the purpose of this article to adequately address great philosophical questions. That can wait for another occasion. But before such questions can even be considered,…
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28Mar 2020 by Post

Wesley J. Smith on the March for Science and Rights Gone Wild

animal rights, Culture & Ethics, Discovery Institute, ethics, Heritage Foundation, ID The Future, March for Science, plant rights, scientism, United States, Wesley J. Smith
On a classic episode of ID the Future, hear Discovery Institute Senior Fellow Wesley J. Smith’s talk at an event hosted by Discovery and the Heritage Foundation: “March for Science or March for Scientism? Understanding the Real Threats to Science in America.” Listen in as he discusses how science has been conflated with ethics, and talks about animal and plant rights. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Wesley Smith speaking at the “March for Science or March for Scientism? Understanding the Real Threats to Science in America” event (screenshot).  The post Wesley J. Smith on the March for Science and Rights Gone Wild appeared first on Evolution News.
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21Mar 2020 by Post

Listen: Kirk Durston on Fantasy Science and Scientism

Atheism, biophysics, Evidence, experimental science, fantasy science, historical sciences, ID The Future, inferential science, Kirk Durston, materialism, mathematics, multiverse, philosophy, Physics, Earth & Space, Podcast, proteins, testing
On a new episode of ID the Future, Kirk Durston, a biophysicist focused on identifying high-information-density parts of proteins, completes a three-part series on three categories of science: experimental, inferential, and fantasy science. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Fantasy science makes inferential leaps so huge that virtually none of it is testable, either by the standards of experimental science or by those of the historical sciences, which reason to the best explanation by process of elimination. One example of fantasy science, according to Durston, is the multiverse. As he argues, that is an imaginative story largely untethered from evidence and testing, but told using math instead of literary devices. Scientism, “atheism dressed up in a lab coat,” can lead to fantasy science of this kind because it commits…
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