Why Evolution Implies the Supernatural

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eSports Chaebol: Feb 22, 2005; Yeah, actually, gamers in the house forever,

ShadowCatboy posted:

Well it's important to note that when we commonly encounter organized events of very low probability, we generally infer that these must have been the result of design. For example, it would be very difficult to explain the structure of Stonehenge with appeals to normal geological or weathering forces. Creationist arguments simply try to apply this logic to life itself. I must emphasize "try," of course.

So yes, a lot of Creationist arguments these days hinge on probabilistic claims. You see this mostly in the Intelligent Design camp, since they specialize in more technical and less obviously stupid arguments. The second argument you propose here is similar to the Fine Tuning Argument, which goes like this:

1. Consider the laws and constants of the universe and all the possible alternate values they could have taken.
2. The vast, vast majority of other alternatives would make life in our universe impossible. (For example, if the strong nuclear force were just a hair stronger, hydrogen would fuse into other weird conformations instead of helium. Stellar dynamics would be drastically altered, and it would be impossible for human life to evolve).
3. Therefore, our universe must've been designed by some being (God).
4. Therefore, God exists.

Now, how might you try to debunk this?

An easy way is to point out that this argument is disingenuous (as Hume did) because it is based on the implied assumption that God is somewhat like the Judeo-Christian god. Nothing about this line of reasoning actually supports that assumption. Bringing attention to this is not a direct rebuttal, but it rebuts the general claims of theists if you point out that maybe theodicy isn't a problem at all because God is a terrible and incompetent being who is not at all omnipotent, but simply more powerful than us.

David Hume posted:

This world, for aught he knows, is very faulty and imperfect, compared to a superior standard; and was only the first rude essay of some infant deity, who afterwards abandoned it, ashamed of his lame performance: it is the work only of some dependent, inferior deity; and is the object of derision to his superiors: it is the production of old age and dotage in some superannuated deity; and ever since his death, has run on at adventures, from the first impulse and active force which it received from him.

What we are really left with are three possibilities:
1. There is no god, and all the incredible appearance of design in the universe is by chance
2. There is an omnipotent and benevolent god, and he deliberately designed the universe as a work which he prides
3. There is a god, but he might not be omnipotent or benevolent, and he might not even pride his creation, and even if he does, he might be foolish to do so

#1 is of course the most consistent with a skeptical outlook, but if you're going to be a theist, #3 honestly seems more compelling than #2, if only in part because it isn't even really one possibility, but is a catch-all that comprises any number of possible scenarios other than #1 and #2. Remember also that even if you find theodicy convincing, all it does is prove that #2 is possible, not that it is true.

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