Rejecting ID on Unscientific Grounds

A common objection to intelligent design is the claim that it is unscientific. Those advancing this objection can hope to project that fabled attitude of scientific objectivity. The claim rings hollow for many. Now they can cite students who are at least frank enough to acknowledge their real reasons. This blog entry from Telic Thoughts reveals the objection by association phenomenon. This occurring at one of our Ivy League schools where one might expect a rejection based on evidence. Alas this is not to be.

http://telicthoughts.com/

Students reject ID over motives, not science? Oh, the humanity!

Posted in Intelligent Design, School on May 9th, 2006 by Krauze

"Uncommon Descent calls attention to a new book on intelligent design, Intelligent Thought: Science Versus the Intelligent Design Movement (three guesses as to what position it’ll take). It has its own publication page, featuring an e-mail from a “post-doc in the Physics Department of Columbia University” as “a stark reminder of why this book is necessary”:

I have been teaching a new course on the frontiers of science, required for all freshmen at Columbia. These students are mostly sharp, capable, and open-minded. Still, many of them think that intelligent design should be studied in the interest of being fair and balanced. What’s troubling is that even those who accept evolution often treat it as a matter of belief, of political persuasion, as if it were akin to being for or against free trade. And if they reject intelligence design it’s often not because they can see its vacuousness as a scientific theory, but merely because the religious and conservative stripes of ID can sometimes look a little uncool. As for science, reason, evidence — what’s that? Students rejecting intelligent design, not because of any knowledge of science, but because they associate it with that “uncool” religious right? Sounds like they’ve been listening to Peter Ward."