Intelligent Design Theory: Is it Science?

Darwinian evolution gained widespread support in the scientific community within a few years after the publication of the Origin of Species in 1859. Since that time, a vast quantity of empirical data has emerged in its support, and none have refuted it. In recent years however, ‘Intelligent Design Theory’, promoted by the Discovery Institute and Center for Cultural Renewal in Seattle WA, has been proposed as an alternative “scientific theory” to explain biological origins and complexity, and it even garnered support within some U.S. high school boards. In this seminar, I review important scientific principles in the context of a recent court case in the U.S.: Kitzmiller et al. vs. The Dover Pennsylvania District School board. Within this framework, I show that Intelligent Design Theory lacks all of the fundamental requirements of a scientific theory, and has been deliberately constructed to mislead the general public with respect to what constitutes science, and by stealth, introduce religion into high school science classesand more.