Kunstformen der Natur: An Exuberance of Design?
At the outset, I want to emphasize that I am not denying the reality of evolution. What I want to show is that any inference from the mere fact of evolution to the denial of the existence of a supreme designer, and/or a plurality of designers, is a non sequitur.
In other words, the argument stated as follows is invalid:
We can account for the diverse forms and structures of living beings in terms of processes of evolution. Therefore, there is no supreme designer, and/or a plurality of designers, of those diverse forms and structures of living beings.
Compare the following argument:
We can account for the workings of a computer in terms of the structure and processes of its hardware and software. Therefore, there is no chief designer, and/or a plurality of designers, of the computer.
At the very least, the conclusion does not follow from the premises!
The fact that we can account for the workings of the computer in terms of the structure and processes of its hardware and software is completely consistent with the existence of a chief designer, and/or a plurality of designers, who have conceived and brought it about that the computer has that hardware and software!
Or consider this argument:
We can account for the 9/11 collapse of the Twin Towers in New York in terms of causal processes resulting from damage to the structural integrity of those buildings. Therefore, there is no reason to refer to intelligent agency in explaining the collapse of those buildings.
Even if the premise is true, the conclusion does not follow. The truth of the premise is consistent with the fact that intelligent agency initiated those causal processes by bringing about the damage to the structural integrity of those buildings, of course, by flying airplanes into them!
In just the same way, the fact that we can account for the diverse forms and structures of living beings in terms of evolution is perfectly consistent with the fact that the process of evolution was initiated and regulated by a supreme designer and/or a plurality of designers, or that a supreme designer and/or a plurality of designers brought about the existence of diverse forms of life by means of a process we imperfectly understand and dub “evolution”.
Hence, again, the inference from the fact of evolution to the denial of the existence of a supreme designer and/or plurality of designers is an invalid one.
All this is a function of a simple truth: explanation in terms of structure, function, or process, is perfectly consistent with the fact that intelligent agency has initiated and governed that process, or designed and brought about the existence of that structure, or shaped that function.
