Intelligent Design Creationism
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Intelligent Design is the most recent form of creationism to develop, but its roots go back much further. Fundamentally speaking, Intelligent Design is based upon the idea that the existence of God could be deduced from the existence of intricate design in the universe, a view popularized by William Paley's famous Watchmaker Analogy in his 1802 book Natural Theology.
According to Paley, if you came across a watch on a beach, you would not assume that it had assembled itself due to chance. Instead, its intricate design and functioning would cause you to conclude that it must have been designed and created by a skilled watchmaker. The same, he argued, should be concluded about the universe - and this is the basis for Intelligent Design Creationism today.
-->Intelligent Design and Evolution
Intelligent Design is founded upon two basic principles: science cannot explain basic aspects of the complexity and intricacy of the universe and, therefore, that those aspects of the universe point to the existence of God.Intelligent Design Methodology
This method of not making an independent case for one's own theory but rather focusing on undermining another theory may not be good science, but it is a good legal strategy. This shouldn't be surprising, because the one person most responsible for the development of the Intelligent Design movement - indeed, the person who can be described as the founder of the movement - is Philip Johnson, a law school professor and recognized authority on criminal law.Intelligent Design and Politics
Intelligently Design is a creationist movement which did not simply evolve into one with political goals - unlike other creationist movements, it started out that way very explicitly and deliberately. Nevertheless, Intelligent Design does share many of the basic social and political presuppositions and goals as those of other creationist groups.
