Intelligent Design Theory
1. Introduction Ryan Nichols, in his paper, “Scientific Content, Testability, and the Vacuity of Intelligent Design Theory,” argues that Intelligent Design Theory (IDT) does not have content due its lack of support and failure to promote further scientific inquiry. I will argue in this paper that his conclusion is false, and that IDT does promote further scientific inquiry and receives support from other theories .
2. Nichols’s Argument Formalized
1. If IDT does not have confirmation from other theories, and does not give rise to new principles or propositions, then IDT has no content.
2. The part of IDT that appeals to intelligent design is not confirmed by other theories and does not give rise to new principles or propositions.
3. Therefore, …show more content…
The spleen, for example, which was thought to be useless, possesses many functions in the immune system for many mammals. Scientists previously thought that the only source of monocytes (white blood cells that have immune system function) was the bone marrow, and that after monocytes were made they were merely stored in blood; however, after research, it was discovered that the spleen “contains ten times as many monocytes as the blood. ” The spleen is able to release these to increase immunity and especially to recover from heart attacks, which depends extensively on monocytes . This study, using data they obtained from mice as well as a study from 1977 which “followed the health of World War II veterans ” concluded that men who did not have spleens were twice as likely to die from heart attacks or pneumonia, and they found the same results with the mice they tested. So, the spleen plays a great function in immunity for mammals, contrary to what Darwinists thought. Additionally, the appendix, which was thought to have no function, “is now known to be an important source of antibody-producing blood cells and thus an integral part of the human immune system. ” It also serves “as a compartment for beneficial bacteria that are needed for normal digestion. ” These are only a few examples of the “vestigial” structures and systems that were once thought to have no function, but after scientific research and inquiry, were proven to have very important
2. Nichols’s Argument Formalized
1. If IDT does not have confirmation from other theories, and does not give rise to new principles or propositions, then IDT has no content.
2. The part of IDT that appeals to intelligent design is not confirmed by other theories and does not give rise to new principles or propositions.
3. Therefore, …show more content…
The spleen, for example, which was thought to be useless, possesses many functions in the immune system for many mammals. Scientists previously thought that the only source of monocytes (white blood cells that have immune system function) was the bone marrow, and that after monocytes were made they were merely stored in blood; however, after research, it was discovered that the spleen “contains ten times as many monocytes as the blood. ” The spleen is able to release these to increase immunity and especially to recover from heart attacks, which depends extensively on monocytes . This study, using data they obtained from mice as well as a study from 1977 which “followed the health of World War II veterans ” concluded that men who did not have spleens were twice as likely to die from heart attacks or pneumonia, and they found the same results with the mice they tested. So, the spleen plays a great function in immunity for mammals, contrary to what Darwinists thought. Additionally, the appendix, which was thought to have no function, “is now known to be an important source of antibody-producing blood cells and thus an integral part of the human immune system. ” It also serves “as a compartment for beneficial bacteria that are needed for normal digestion. ” These are only a few examples of the “vestigial” structures and systems that were once thought to have no function, but after scientific research and inquiry, were proven to have very important