Open Origins

Irreducible Complexity: Incontrovertible Proof of Intelligent Design?
David Jackson

Introduction

     Who are we? Where did we come from? These are just some of the many questions that help define and distinguish us as sentient and intelligent beings. In our quest for meaning and knowledge of the world we are bound, we have utilized religion and more recently science to answer these introspective questions. Within the past two centuries, humanity has witnessed a paradoxical world-view shift from a supernaturally created and sustained universe to one of naturalistic, spontaneous origins. In the recent decades, creation science advocates have attempted to defend the God-centered universe against the onslaught of 'humanistic', evolutionary thinking. Intelligent design, termed in the early 1980's, appears to be a new chapter in the defense of theology against evolution. However, many of the arguments used in creation science appear to be repackaged in the guise of intelligent design.
     A large majority of scientists support a revised evolutionary theory of chemical and biological evolution of life (Larson & Witham, 1998). Science, however, does not dispute whether design or complexity exists in the universe. In fact the universe is exponentially more complex than what we understood even a century ago. The question that begs to be asked is: "does scientific evidence support the supposition that life was created by a supernatural intelligence rather than by natural causes?" Unless intelligent design can provide observable, empirical evidence, than it should remain a philosophical/metaphysical hypothesis of why life exists. This is not to say the theory of intelligent design cannot be true. Only that it is not capable of being proven scientifically at this time with the current evidence on-hand. However, evidence does not support outright, atheistic beliefs either; as this lies outside the realm of science as well. One of the latest arguments that intelligent design advocates have attempted to substantiate their premise is the argument of the irreducible complexity of biological systems, proposed biochemist Dr. Michael Behe. Through scientific evidence and logical reasoning we will strip away the metaphysical and improvable assertions and carefully analyze the remaining evidence of this argument to derive the most rational and logical explanation of the origins of life.