Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Tufts biologist asks, where is anatomy coded in living systems?

Michael Levin: The idea is that there is supposed to be emergence (of anatomy), and that kind of emergent complexity, but this idea that things are working towards a goal, as any navigational system fundamentally does, is not something that is very comfortable, certainly for molecular biology. Read More ›

Excerpt from: “There is a God, How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind”

Anthony Flew: "The leaders of science over the last hundred years, along with some of today’s most influential scientists, have built a philosophically compelling vision of a rational universe that sprang from a divine Mind." Read More ›

At The Debrief: The Case for Alien Life Elevated By the Exciting First-Ever Confirmation of Two Exoplanet Water Worlds

Bold claim: "However, given that water is the fundamental building block for all life as we know it, the exciting first-ever confirmation of two exoplanet water worlds still dramatically increases the likelihood that alien life exists in the universe. " Read More ›

At Phys.org: Experimentalists: Sorry, no oxygen required to make these minerals on Mars

"There are several life forms even on Earth that do not require oxygen to survive," Mitra said. "I don't think of it as a 'setback' to habitability—only that there was probably no oxygen-based lifeforms." Read More ›

At Evolution News: “Why Life?”: A Question Atheist Scientists Never Ask

Stephen J. Iacoboni‘s article contains a profound question… One cannot understand organisms — that is, life itself — without incorporating the concept of purpose within biology, the science of organisms. Such purpose is observable and measurable, and therefore well within the bounds of scientific inquiry. In order to understand life, it is not sufficient to simply observe what is happening. The real question is why things are the way they are. However, did we not just decide that animals eat because they are hungry and avoid danger to eschew harm? Yes, these are clearly purpose-driven activities, and they all have a biochemical or physiologic basis. True enough. But the deeper question is, why are these physiologic stimuli there in the first place? Answer: to allow for Read More ›

Origenes on the self-defeating incoherence of the [hyper-]skeptic

Origenes is on fire these days, so let’s headline: [Origenes, emergence play thread, 57:] The skeptic wants to criticize, but he doesn’t want to be criticized himself. We all make statements of belief, skeptics included. But the skeptic posits a closed circle in which no beliefs are justified. Yet at the same time, he arrogates to himself a position outside of this circle by which he can judge the beliefs of others, a move he denies to his opponents. Since the raison d’être of his thesis is that there is no outside of the circle, he does not have the epistemic right to assume a position independent of it, and so his belief about the unjustifiability of beliefs or reasoning Read More ›

At Sci.News: Human Bipedalism May Have Evolved in Trees, Study Says

The "mystery" of "why humans alone amongst the apes first began to walk on two feet," and "why these chimpanzees spend so much time in the trees" presents yet another disconnect between the expectations of evolutionary theory and reality. However, both of these findings are in complete accord with the model of intelligent design, in which the Designer intended humans to walk on two feet and chimpanzees to spend most of their time in trees. Read More ›

At Astronomy.com: The universe may be more unstable than you think

So, physics researchers have found more fine-tuning: yet another feature of our universe upon which our entire existence is contingent. When combined with the many other fine-tuned parameters of physics necessary for life to exist, we have growing reason to doubt that "luck" is the explanation. Read More ›

Your Designed Body: Engineering Hurdles

The body's design: "There remains no plausible, causally adequate hypotheses for how any series of accidents, no matter how lucky and no matter how much time is given, could accomplish such things." Read More ›

Annual Fundraising Drive

Please support UD! Everyone has heard of a “shoestring budget.”  But did you know that UD gets by on an “aglet budget”?  What is an aglet? you ask.  An aglet is that little plastic sheath at the end of a shoestring.  That’s right.  Our budget is so small that we only wish we could get by on a shoestring.  All of which is prelude to our annual holiday fundraising drive.  If you have benefited from Caspian’s and the News Desk’s tireless efforts chasing the latest ID-related happenings, or KF’s in-depth analysis of the fundamentals, or any of our other UD features, please consider a donation to help fund our efforts.  The Donate button is there on the right of the Read More ›

At Phys.org: Comet impacts could bring ingredients for life to Europa’s ocean

"Comet strikes on Jupiter's moon Europa could help transport critical ingredients for life found on the moon's surface to its hidden ocean of liquid water—even if the impacts don't punch completely through the moon's icy shell." Read More ›