An Ongoing Effort to Detect Intelligent Design

Radio telescope array dedicated to astronomy, SETI is the title of a University of Califorina at Berkeley news item which provides information about a new radio telescope that will gather astronomical data and also search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Of course if extraterrestrial intelligence were found mainstream thinkers would view this as confirming their preconceptions about design rather than illustrating how efforts to detect design can yield productive findings.

Mike Gene authored this comment at Telic Thoughts. It contains the following quote:

In abstract world of logic, perhaps this is the way it should be. But in the real world, reductionism is played against vitalism. Non-teleologists believe that if something is explained by physicochemical processes, non-teleology has been supported. This is because they think teleology is supposed to come with forces distinct from physicochemical.

Very true. Most IDists do not dispute the linkage of a result to a physiochemical cause. Neither do they believe that evidence of such is ipso facto evidence for non-teleology. No wonder productive dialog is difficult.