Posted by Chris on May 14, 1998 at 15:21:06:
In Reply to: Cosed Mindedness is a cop-out posted by Coach on May 14, 1998 at 10:04:48:
A few comments:
:"Demonstrably Functionless" is nonsense. What does it mean to be "demonstrably functionless"?
Demonstratably functionless may have been more correct. The insulin in your blood is a modified protein consisting of an A and a B chain. The original protein produced by your pancreas is a precursor with an additional C chain that is clipped out once the protein is complete. The only important function of the C chain is to assist the folding of the A and B chains. It has to be the right length--33 amino acids long. The sequence of the human C chain differs from that of other mammals in a manner that recapitulates their evolutionary relatedness. There is no functional reason why this should be. Any change can be made in the C chain, or the C chain of a pig (which differs in about a dozen amino acids) used in humans, and it makes no difference. It's sequence is demonstratably functionless.
As for pseudogenes, see http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/molecular-genetics.html Very interesting stuff.
: :Scientifically only one answer can be investigated...the evolutionary one. Since Science can only deal with natural phenomena, the second option (a Designer not part of nature/Supernatural) cannot be spoken to.
:So the real question we are trying to ask is was the beginning of life Natural or Supernatural.
I thought we were discussion evolution, not the beginning of life. They are two different things altogether. My position on the origin of life would be very different because the field is so speculative--in contrast to evolution which is as scientifically sound as atomic theory.
:Take me to any lab in the world and show me Chemical Evolution.
What do you mean by chemical evolution? Are you talking about abiogenesis or evolution? Evolution can be demonstrated, but abiogenesis cannot.
: ---Once again you deify science. And once again you use verifiable but do not define it. Once again I will say that scientific verification is the use of current info to support a
: ---hypothesis. Finally, the implication that those who hold an opposing point of view from yours are copping out is an interesting statement. Are you saying that only those who agree
: ---with your point of view are legitimate seekers of knowledge? That the rest of us are taking the easy way out? It would seem to me that the easy way out in modern society would be
: ---to not oppose the main viewpoint.
The God hypothesis as an explanation for natural phenomena is a cop-out because it can explain everything and, in principle, it cannot be disproven.
Closed mindedness is a cop out. That's not the question here. In fact, I do have an open mind to the possibility that something "guided" evolution with a nudge here and there, or that the origin of life on earth wasn't just a chance event. But there are philosophical reasons why that isn't very satisfying--it opens the door for an infinite regression of questions like: "so where did the complex intelligence that guided/created all of this come from?" And I don't have high expectations for those possibilities because supernatural explanations have a poor track record--naturalisic explanations have performed better and I expect them to continue to perform better. And at this point there is no evidence FOR supernatural assertions. Why not give just as much credence to all supernatural possibilities? The imagination becomes the only limit.