Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #178094 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 334 pages

Customer Reviews

No questions answered
This is not a science book. Dembski airily refers to quantum mechanics, but clearly has not the slightest understanding of the subject. His knowledge of Darwin is appalling, and most of his positive arguments hark back to Aquinas' neo-Aristotelianism, and a fundamental misreading of William Paley. More importantly, he does not show how Intelligent Design can be falsified, and is silent on ID's attempt to undermine the U.S. Constitution, and its proponents' ideological and financial links with Islamic fundamentalists. Little intelligent thought, badly written, confused and confusing.

The Truth will come out in the end.
Before reading this book I had the impression from various comments I had read, that William Dembski was some sort of religious fanatic whose views could be dismissed as unworthy of serious consideration. I had not got very far into this book when I realised that here was an intelligent and very clear thinking scientist whose views were such that they ought to be taken very seriously.

Not being either a scientist or a mathematician, there were a few places where I needed to carefully re-read passages to try to understand exactly what was being said, but on the whole the book is written in layman's language. Since reading this book I have read various reviews and articles on the other side of the argument, but have not found any convincing response. Frequently there has been dismissive contempt and that in itself suggests a paucity of reasonable counter argument. The fact that the scientific community is opposed to the publication of papers supporting intelligent design, suggests to me that the implications of it being true, simply cannot be countenanced. If science is meant to be an investigation and search for truth, then there needs to be an openness to both sides of an argument.

I strongly recommend this book. Truth can be suppressed for a time, but in the end like a spring of water it will emerge and will not remain hidden forever.

New Horizons for a Believer
Dembski offers a quick insight on the theory of Intelligent Design. Despite being rather a summary, it tackles the main issues while making the debate interesting.
For a believer (in the "Designer") this book opens new horizons where God was not expected to be present. For example, the idea that God can be playing a role in the Universe, without modifying the rules of nature, through quantum indetermination. This and other powerful proposals give hope for a reconciliation between natural sciences and theology.
For a non-believer, the book will be disquieting, and relatively acid, if her/ his commitment to evolution is strong.