¶ … agreement between William Harris and John Calvert's article "Intelligent Design: The Scientific Alternative to Evolution," Richard Dawkins' article "The Blind Watchmaker" and Philip Kitcher's article "Believing Where We Cannot Prove," it is that there is no consensus opinion regarding the answers to the questions of where do people come from or how did they get here. As such, answers to these questions are largely left up to the individual and his or her belief, which is generally associated with a finite number of viewpoints on this issue. Personally, it makes the most sense to this author that people are the result of a divine creation on the part of a powerful divinity. The emphasis that certain authors, philosophers and scientists place on who that divinity is and what specific form of such a creation took place to result in mankind is not important, and the fact in the previous sentence is beyond question.
Still, the aforementioned readings present some interesting viewpoints regarding the nature of creation. On a basic level, the writings of Harris and Calvert offer a comprehensive analysis of the various stances taken by scientists and religious people when searching for answers to how mankind was created. These authors denote the fact that there are scientists who generally adhere to naturalism -- the notion that all things are simply the effect of causes and effects which can be empirically proven) (Harris and Clavert, 296),...
This conviction directly conflicts with that of most theologians, who believe that mankind was created by a deity and is proof of that deity's benevolent nature and power. Kitcher generally adheres to this latter notion, whereas Dawkins is usually aligned with the former one. What is most compelling about the writings of Harris and Calvert is that they actually pose an alternative to these two conventional viewpoints. That alternative is refereed to within their article as intelligent design. Intelligent design utilizes the rationality and propensity for demonstrable and empirical evidence which is usually associated with Darwin and is represented within this bevy of literature by the viewpoint of Dawkins, yet blends it with certain aspects of traditional theology. A primary characteristic of intelligent design theory is the notion of design itself. Calvert and Harris provide the following definition of this term: "a designed event, object, or pattern is one that was originally conceived by a mind of intelligence, and brought into being "on purpose" by manipulation of matter and energy" (Harris and Calvert 302). Intelligent design theory, therefore, advances the concept that man was created by some intelligent force, yet varies from a conventional theology approach by failing to discuss the particulars of which divinity (or rather…
