It seems to me that most of the design arguments I am aware of would more
properly be labelled arguments about the identity of the designer. Paley
for example could argue that a watch was designed because it exhibited the
characteristics of objects designed by humans. Phil Johnson sometimes uses
examples from the investigation of crimes, in which the investigator tries
to identify suspects by studying clues about the perpetrator's method --
his design. Art historians try to identify the painter of a newly
discovered painting by brushstrokes, materials and style. Again the
question is not "was there a designer?" but "who is the designer?". Design
seems to be something that we recognize so easily that we almost can't
relate how we do it, and instead slip into the question of who the designer
is.
As a Calvinist, I have trouble with the idea that anything in nature is not
under God's sovereignty. If everything in nature is under God's
sovereignty, then everything in nature is either directly designed by God
or its existence and the scope of its functionality is ordained by God.
Nothing in nature then can be called undesigned.
Bill Hamilton | Chassis & Vehicle Systems
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
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