From: Robert Schneider (rjschn39@bellsouth.net)
Date: Wed Sep 04 2002 - 23:23:58 EDT
I join the chorus of praise for Howard's surgery on "No Free Lunch." I =
especially appreciate, Howard, your dissection of Dembski's rhetorical =
strategy. What I have come to see, thanks to you, is that there are at =
least two rhetorical strategies at work in ID literature. One is the =
terminological legerdemain employed in the defining of =
technical/scientific terms like "chance" and "complexity that you have =
pointed out." If you define the term to fit the end you have in mind, =
then of course your argument will come out just to your liking. The =
other, a close relative I suppose, is the rhetoric of public pleading, =
which involves the use of emotionally laden terms and notions like =
"evolution is philosophy, not science," the charge that scientists are =
dishonest or in denial in their presentation of evolution, and the =
appeal to "fairness"--let's hear both sides of the argument; it's the =
American way. The kind of rhetoric one finds in Wedgies like Johnson, =
Wells, and Santorum who want to win more troops over to their side of =
the culture war.
Both present a challenge to those who see the flaws in ID's =
scientific arguments as well as their wretched theology, for all of =
their literature, it seems to me, is aimed primarily at a broad and =
general public rather than a scientific audience. One audience I can =
think of are college alums like a classmate, who was not a science =
major, who wants to be assured that there are good scientific arguments =
for ID (he's read _Darwin's Black Box_) and is attracted to what appears =
to be an intelligent argument but is not really equipped to dissect it. =
Another audience consists of the great number of people in this country =
who are disturbed over the secularization of public education, have been =
persuaded that evolution is one of the causes, and want an alternative =
that brings God back into the classroom. They want people like Johnson =
and Wells to be right.
I think the fundamental challenge to ID remains: get beyond the =
fancy footwork and produce the positive science to put your hypothesis =
on sound theoretical footing, and convincingly demonstrate that =
"theistic science" produces better science than metholodical naturalism =
(and you have to accept our definition of MN). But the other battle =
(the right imagery since they have declared war on "Darwinism") needs to =
be fought in the public arena with a rhetorical strategy that gets the =
public's attention. And when you are part of the "excluded middle," =
that's difficult to do. But we who share this perspective must work at =
it. Aristotle asserted that rhetoric's persuasive power should be used =
in the service of truth. How might we with rhetorical effectiveness get =
the truth across in the popular media that creation and evolution belong =
together, and that the God of ID ("whoever this Designer might be--we =
don't know") bears no resemblance to the God of Christian faith, or any =
faith? Despite the efforts of many good people, including some on this =
list, this voice is still not adequately heard.
Bob Schneider
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