In response to Bob, Tim wrote:
> I conclude that there is no a priori reason provided to suppose
> that design events must have stopped or, at least, that we shouldn't
> consider the possibility that a designer could remain active.
In the context of this exchange, I presume that the term "design events"
really means "events in which a non-natural Agent, acting in the manner of
an artisan, crafts/assembles some particular new organism or biotic
subsystem," and that the term "designer" really means "extra-natural,
form-conferring Agent."
If I have correctly understood these terms, then I agree with Tim. Any
proposal that the form-conferring actions of this extra-natural Agent must
be confined to the past (perhaps at an exponentially declining rate) seems
purely an ad hoc imposition on that Agent's freedom. That does not
necessarily make it a false proposition, but it must at least be recognized
as an ad hoc proposal whose applicability is not at all self-evident.
Howard Van Till
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