Signs of Intelligence: Understanding Intelligent Design (Paperback)

by William A. Dembski (Editor), James Kushiner (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Citing inspiration from Quintilian's maxim, "Write not so that you can be understood but so that you cannot be misunderstood," Dembski and Kushiner have assembled a collection of judicious and eloquent essays representing the often-misunderstood intelligent design movement. Contributors include prominent Darwin-doubters Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe and Stephen Meyer, together with a stable of scientists and philosophers associated with the Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture, which Meyer directs. Part I of the collection focuses on introducing intelligent design concepts and addressing general philosophical objections; Part II (composing about two-thirds of the book) includes more technical issues and examples of how design comes into play in scientific subfields such as cosmology, developmental biology and information theory. This collection reflects a maturing movement that is aware of its critics, more focused in its goals and mindful of the need to communicate its message to a nonspecialist audience even as it appeals for a hearing in the scientific community. Although Brazos is promoting the book within "science and faith" and "apologetics" categories, these essays promote intelligent design as a scientific research program rather than as a religious doctrine, and only a few call attention to the theological implications or underpinnings of design. Religious issues are actually de-emphasized by most of the contributors, who express frustration at being dismissed as "creationists" by critics in the scientific community. (Mar.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Since the late nineteenth century Darwinism has reigned supreme. But in the last ten years, with the advent of books by experts like Phillip Johnson (Darwin on Trial), Michael Behe (Darwin's Black Box), and William Dembski (The Design Inference), an opening has been wedged into the bedrock of evolutionary theory.

Signs of Intelligence: Understanding Intelligent Design presents fourteen essays by the main players (including Johnson, Behe, and Dembski) in the intelligent design movement. In clear and accessible language, with diagrams and relevant quotations, it provides an introductory overview of the argument for intelligent design. From fossil records to the irreducible complexity of biochemistry, the logical and evidential fallacies of evolutionary theory are exposed.

This brief and accessible book serves as an unsurpassed guide and introduction to the key arguments of a movement that may yet change the face and restore the soul of modern science.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Brazos Press; 1St Edition edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587430045
• ISBN-13: 978-1587430046
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #624,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction to ID, July 30, 2001

By A Customer

I'm not a scientist, but Intelligent Design (ID) has caught my attention. There was the article in the Wall Street Journal about the tenured full professor at San Frans. State U. who was pulled mid-semester from teaching the biology intro. course because he spent a single session presenting views such as ID that challenged the reigning Neo-Darwinian dogma. There was the fury I heard on NPR over Phillip Johnson's *Darwin on Trial.* There was Dembski's dismissal from his post at Baylor U. for inviting non-Darwinian speakers to a academic forum on the origins of life.

Why were so many folks so emotionally opposed to a handful of scientists who are finding compelling eveidence for God's fingerprint in nature?

I've now read a few of these ID books now and am very impressed. This latest work is a very fine introduction. The contributors are all top-drawer thinkers (Dembksi has a Ph.D. from U. of Chicago in Math. and a 2nd Ph.D. from Univ. of Illinois in the philosophy of science, along with masters in hard sciences and theology; Michael Behe has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Penn and is a full professor at Lehigh U; Phillip Johnson is a logician who is a chaired, full prof. at Berkeley and clerked for the chief justice of the US Supreme Court; Stephen Meyer has his Ph.D. from Cambridge; Jonathan Wells has a Ph.D. from yale in history of science and another from Berkeley in biology, etc. etc.) These are extrememly well-trained, sharp folks, from a variety of backgrounds and fields. But the essays are, for the most part, very accessible to laypersons, like myself.

I enjoyed every one of the pieces in this book, but especially Jay W. Richards' (Ph.D. Princeton Seminary) and Dembskis'.

Whatever your views on this subject, I would urge you to read this book and see what all the fuss is about.

23 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be misled by "poor" reviews, May 10, 2003

By A Customer

If you are a free thinker, this book is an outstanding introduction to ID. Most of the poor reviews are more of a reflection of the personal biases of the reviewers than the book they are reviewing.

In fact, at least two reviewers incorrectly assert that this book attempts to discredit modern molecular biology. This book does nothing of the sort. In fact, this book presents a number of well-reasoned arguments that neo-evolutionary theory is inconsistent with some contemporary observations of molecular biology, in no way do the authors assert to discredit molecular biology.

If you are open minded and willing to confront science honestly then you will find this book interesting and intelligent, even if in the final analysis you do not agree with its conclusions.

86 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book should be read before being reviewed..., January 3, 2002

By A Customer

A previous reviewer mused:

"this book makes no sense, and cannot answer the fundamental logical inconsistency of the creationist argument. if coherence in structure in design presupposes a creator, who then created the structure of this creator? there then must have been a higher upper creator, who in turn must have had a creator, ad infinitum. if you are a creationist you will love this book, otherwise it is a waste of time."

Evidently, the book was not read. Dr. Dembski (editor) and the contributing works detail and critique the logical and structrual evidence of design and information extant in the universe.

The response of the "reviewer" quoted above expresses [a] that the book was not read, else why not address at least *some* of its content (or essential thesis), and [b] he or she was simply expressing their ignorance of the issues and of basic theology.

Modern science is in essential agreement that the universe has not always existed--it had a *beginning*, even time itself is said to have come "into being" at some specific point in the past.

Theology does not argue that God--the "Intelligent Designer"--merely preceded the universe, but that the Intelligent Designer is transcendent to it and is eternal. As such, his question is a non sequitor; it is illogical and pointless to ask, "who made this eternal uncreated intelligent being?"

An eternal, uncreated designer does not have a beginning or a creator. The "reviewer" is confused and confusing the categories of a infinite necessary being and a finite contigent being. This is a very low level, hack objection, but, sadly, we do still hear it from time to time.

Now, if the argument of theism were that the Intelligent Designer merely preceeded the universe, then there would be legitimate complaint--but no such thesis is postulated by theism.

So, we do have, by concensus of empirical science, a universe that did not always exist and came into existence sometime in the finite past. Theism postulates a transcendent, eternal intelligent Being that has always existed--indeed, that even created time itself and exists outside of the space-time universe.

Read the book for yourself. And if you want to understand basic issues of theism, get a good systematic theology.