Intelligent Design or Evolution?

The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.

Intelligent Design is thus a scientific disagreement with the core claim of evolutionary theory that the apparent design of living systems is an illusion.

Although given a new name the theory is centuries old and in an attempt to explain the premise in layman terms the English theologian William Paley put forward a famous watchmaker analogy:-

If we find a pocket watch in a field, we immediately infer that it was produced not by natural processes acting blindly but by a designing human intellect. Likewise, the natural world contains abundant evidence of a supernatural creator.

This argument found favour until Darwin's publication of the Origin of Species in 1859 where Darwin argued that evolution by natural selection better explained life's complexity and diversity.

Darwins theory of evolution gradually overtook the Intelligent Design theory and for many years became the accepted thought and the one that was taught in science.

Fast forward almost 150 years and the debate is back out of the box. In the US supporters of Intelligent Design are not only arguing that it should be recognised but that it should also be taught in science.

Do you think that Darwin's theory of evolution explains everything, can Intelligent Design be a valid alternative, and is there room in science for two such opposing theories?


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