Papers from a conference, entitled Design and its Critics, held at Concordia University, Mequon, Wis., June 22-24, 2000

Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction. General introduction / William Dembski and Michael Ruse -- The argument from design : a brief history / Michael Ruse -- Who's afraid of ID? : a survey of the intelligent design movement / Angus Menuge -- pt. I: Darwinism. Design without designer : Darwin's greatest discovery / Francisco J. Ayala -- The flagellum unspun : the collapse of "irreducible complexity" / Kenneth R. Miller -- The design argument / Elliott Sober -- DNA by design? : Stephen Meyer and the return of the god hypothesis / Robert T. Pennock -- pt. II: Complex self-organization. Prolegomenon to a general biology / Stuart Kauffman -- Darwinism, design, and complex systems dynamics / Bruce H. Weber and David J. Depew -- Emergent complexity, teleology, and the arrow of time / Paul Davies -- The emergence of biological value / James Barham -- pt. III: Theistic evolution. Darwin, design, and divine providence / John F. Haught -- The inbuilt potentiality of creation / John Polkinghorne -- Theistic evolution / Keith Ward -- Intelligent design : some geological, historical, and theological questions / Michael Roberts -- The argument from laws of nature reassessed / Richard Swinburne -- pt. IV: Intelligent design. The logical underpinnings of intelligent design / William A. Dembski -- Information, entropy, and the origin of life / Walter L. Bradley -- Irreducible complexity : obstacle to Darwinian evolution / Michael J. Behe -- The Cambrian information explosion : evidence for intelligent design / Stephen C. Meyer

William Dembski, Michael Ruse, and other prominent philosophers provide here a comprehensive balanced overview of the debate concerning biological origins--a controversial dialectic since Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859. Invariably, the source of controversy has been "design." Is the appearance of design in organisms (as exhibited in their functional complexity) the result of purely natural forces acting without prevision or teleology? Or, does the appearance of design signify genuine prevision and teleology, and, if so, is that design empirically detectable and thus open to scientific inquiry? Four main positions have emerged in response to these questions: Darwinism, self-organization, theistic evolution, and intelligent design. The contributors to this volume define their respective positions in an accessible style, inviting readers to draw their own conclusions. Two introductory essays furnish a historical overview of the debate