Outline of the topic
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This timeline of intelligent design outlines the major events in the development of intelligent design as presented and promoted by the intelligent design movement.
Edwards v. Aguillard ruling, Pandas
- August 1986 Amicus Curae brief by scientific organisations and 72 Nobel Prize winning scientists set out argument that the Louisiana Act's definition of "creation-science" was religious dogma, including creation ex nihilo, created kinds of life, worldwide deluge and young earth, the legislation described conventional "creation-science" and not the "abrupt appearance" construct presented to the court which was ill-defined and "a post hoc invention, created for the purpose of defending this unconstitutional Act." They asserted that:
Science is devoted to formulating and testing naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena. It is a process for systematically collecting and recording data about the physical world, then categorizing and studying the collected data in an effort to infer the principles of nature that best explain the observed phenomena. Science is not equipped to evaluate supernatural explanations for our observations; without passing judgment on the truth or falsity of supernatural explanations, science leaves their consideration to the domain of religious faith. Because the scope of scientific inquiry is consciously limited to the search for naturalistic principles, science remains free of religious dogma and is thus an appropriate subject for public-school instruction.[20]
- June 19, 1987 Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard that the Louisiana Creationism Act violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment: it lacked a clear secular purpose, did not protect academic freedom as claimed, and instead of encouraging "the teaching of all scientific theories about human origins ... [had the] purpose of discrediting evolution by counterbalancing its teaching at every turn with the teaching of creationism. ... endorses religion by advancing the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind ... [Its] primary purpose was to change the public school science curriculum to provide persuasive advantage to a particular religious doctrine that rejects the factual basis of evolution in its entirety."[7] However, the statement that "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to school children might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction." left a loophole for ID.[21]
- 1987 FTE copyrighted draft retitled Of Pandas and People: The Central Questions of Biological Origins, reference to Edwards decision added in footnote, as in earlier drafts had definition "Creation means that the various forms of life began abruptly through the agency of an intelligent creator with their distinctive features already intact. Fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks, and wings, etc."[12]
Creation becomes intelligent design
- 1987 (according to a 2005 apologia by the DI's Witt) Thaxton's definition of "creation-science" had been overruled at Edwards by being equated to YEC. As the academic editor for FTE, serving as the editor for Pandas, Thaxton needed a new term and found it in a phrase he'd picked up from a NASA scientist – intelligent design. He thought "That's just what I need, it's a good engineering term ... it seemed to jibe. When I would go to meetings, I noticed it was a phrase that would come up from time to time. And I went back through my old copies of Science magazine and found the term used occasionally." Soon the term intelligent design was incorporated into the language of the book.[16][22]
- 1987 Shortly after the Supreme Court decision, in a new draft of Pandas, approximately 150 uses of the root word "creation", such as "creationism" and "creationist", were systematically changed to refer to intelligent design,[23] with "creationists" being changed to "design proponents" or, in one instance, "cdesign proponentsists".[24] Accordingly, in the definition "creation" was changed to "intelligent design", so that it now read "Intelligent design means that various forms of life began abruptly through an intelligent agency, with their distinctive features already intact. Fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks, wings, etc." This wording was essentially unchanged when published in 1989 and in the 1993 2nd. edition.[12]
Johnson vs. evolution
- 1987–1988 academic year, Phillip E. Johnson had a year's sabbatical as a visiting professor at University College London.[25]
- 1987 He read the Blind Watchmaker by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and Evolution: A Theory in Crisis by the creationist Michael Denton, then Isaac Asimov's Guide to Science, and found purpose in life – he read the amicus briefs in Edwards and concluded that the definition of science was loaded against creationism.[26] Johnson decided that the creationists had lost that case because of their unfair exclusion from science by the scientific community's naturalistic definition of science. Consequently, creationists must redefine science to restore the supernatural.[2]
- Autumn term 1987 Johnson met Stephen C. Meyer who was working on a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Cambridge, and writing a thesis that analyzed methodological issues in origins sciences.[25]
- June 23–26, 1988, Charles Thaxton [editor of Of Pandas and People ] held a conference titled Sources of Information Content in DNA in Tacoma, Washington, and presented the conference with a paper titled "In Pursuit of Intelligent Causes: Some Historical Background",[27] arguing "that intelligent causes are a viable option today for science".[28] Stephen C. Meyer was at the conference, and later recalled that "The term intelligent design came up in 1988 at a conference in Tacoma, Wash., called Sources of Information Content in DNA ... Charles Thaxton referred to a theory that the presence of DNA in a living cell is evidence of a designing intelligence. We weren't political; we were thinking about molecular biology and information theory. This wasn't stealth creationism."[29] Meyer brought a copy of Johnson's draft book,[30] and Paul A. Nelson remembered "Stephen Meyer, at the time a graduate student at Cambridge University, attended Thaxton’s conference, bringing with him a manuscript from (as Meyer put it with a grin) 'this wild lawyer I met in the UK.' I can still recall my excitement at the conference when I read through the manuscript, which later became Darwin on Trial."[31][32] The conference also gained the attention of Denton and Plantinga. There was now a question of finding a suitable umbrella term for the emerging movement: Thaxton had avoided the word "design" as this aroused opposition in biology, he reviewed historic wording such as "creative intelligence".
- August 1988 Johnson's draft of "Position Paper on Darwinism" (this was issued to Campion Center participants a few days before 30 November 1989 revised summary).[34]
- Bennetta, William J. (1988). "The Rise and Fall of the Louisiana Creationism Law". Terra (July/August and September/October). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Retrieved 6 June 2019. reviews sequence of cases, predicts "We shall hear more about “abrupt appearance,” whether it is called by that name or another one, as the creationists recover from the collapse of their legislative campaign and turn their energies back to the activities that historically have produced their biggest successes. Those activities have been aimed not at legislatures but at administrative agencies—local ones especially." Notes "Because the term 'creation-science' has been sullied, most recently in Edwards v. Aguillard, the creationists’ new pseudoscience will carry a new name, or perhaps several new names. Its content will be fully sterilized: it will avoid explicit supernaturalism, and it will speak not of any god but of a nebulous 'intelligence' or 'intelligent cause.' " Work already done by the done by the Foundation for Thought and Ethics, outlines TMoLO, "The Foundation recently has been seeking a publisher for another manuscript, Biology and Origin .. [which it wants] to become a school book and to carry its sterilized fundamentalism directly into public-school science classrooms." It had sponsored an opinion poll in 1986; "Most biology teachers, the Foundation says, think that creationist doctrines should be brought into science classes to countervail evolutionary views, and most would welcome a supplemental text that would help them to present creationist doctrines in their own classrooms!"
- December 1988 Thaxton decided to use the label "intelligent design" instead of creationism for his new movement.[13] (a term edited into Pandas drafts in 1987)
December 1988, Thaxton lectured at Princeton and as an overhead visuals, used a July news article clipping headlined "Space Face". It discussed speculation about the 1976 photograph of a sphinxlike "face on Mars" taken by the Viking 1 orbiter, and had a comment from a scientist about deciphering "intelligent design" in nature. The phrase worked well in Thaxton's lecture. Buell had a publication deadline of 1989 for Pandas, and Thaxton had to choose a term for its use of design theory: "Finally, the day came when we were going to have to decide".
- 1988–1990 Meyer introduced Johnson to Denton and Paul Nelson: "I met Steve Meyer, who was in England at the time. Through Steve, I got to know the others, who were developing what became the Intelligent Design movement. Michael Denton stayed in my home for three days while he was in the United States. Meyer introduced me to Paul Nelson, and so on. One by one, these people came together.".[36]
Of Pandas and People published
- 1989 survey found that more than 30% of a national sample of high school biology teachers wanted to teach "creation science".[37]
- August 1989 Of Pandas and People was published,[38] printed by "Haughton Publishing Co." (Horticultural Printers, Inc. of Dallas, with no other books in print).[9] It included all of the basic arguments of intelligent design in essentially modern form (except for Behe's irreducible complexity argument which appeared in the 1993 edition).[21][39] In 2004, Jon Buell of the FTE stated this was "the first place where the phrase 'intelligent design' appeared in its present use."[40]
Campaign to get intelligent design into schools
- 1989 Haughton and the FTE campaigned to get Pandas into schools across the U.S. – mobilizing local Christian conservative groups to push school boards and individual teachers to adopt the book and also to get themselves elected to school boards and local educational committees. They claimed that intelligent design was "accepted science, a view that is held by many highly qualified scientists".[18]
- September 12, 1989, at the Alabama hearings on approved school textbooks. Pandas was on the list but not in the libraries for public viewing as required. An Eagle Forum chapter director praised Pandas as an exemplary scientific text presenting an alternative to modern evolutionary theory based on "intelligent design". With NCSE assistance, written criticism was sent to committee members and on October 2, a majority of the State Textbook Committee voted against Pandas, partly because of its thinly disguised religious underpinnings. This decision was subject to adoption by the State Board of Education in December.[41]
- November 1989, Haughton advertised Pandas in the monthly of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and other journals, claiming it had been "prepared with academic integrity" and had been "Authored by mainstream, published science educators",[42] and promoted it at teachers' association conventions.[43]
- November 1989, Pandas was promoted by members of religiously oriented citizen pressure groups like Concerned Women for America and Citizens for Excellence in Education. It was under consideration for state adoption in both Idaho and Alabama, and to be submitted in Texas and other states in the coming months. With grass-roots promotion it also had a good chance of showing up in local districts of non-adoption states.[43]
- December 1989 a church campaign in Alabama gathered over 11,800 signatures on a petition to add Pandas to the list of approved school textbooks, after weeks of urging from a Christian radio station in Tuscaloosa.[44]
- December 14, 1989, at the Alabama State Board of Education meeting to consider adoption of the textbook list, Haughton Publishing made an elaborate presentation. A Birmingham businessman presented petitions with over 11,800 signatures urging the board to adopt supplementary materials presenting "Intelligent Design" as an alternative to evolution. The attorney for Haughton, Hare, charged that opponents had falsely painted Pandas as a creationist text, and said that "Intelligent Design" does not compel belief in the supernatural. The Board requested legal advice, and a January hearing was set up just to consider Pandas.[44]
- January 8, 1990, Buell and Thaxton were amongst speakers for Pandas at the hearing, but the publisher Haughton tried to withdraw and end the hearing on procedural grounds. The meeting continued, but Haughton then threatened to sue the committee members if they rejected the book rather than accepting that it had been withdrawn, as rejection would injure future sales prospects. The committee passed a resolution recognizing its withdrawal.[44]
- Active promotion by creationists of "Pandas for public school use continued throughout the 1990s, then after 2000 activity largely died down.[21][39]