Although, he hints at intuition's unreliability for making objective analyses/conclusions: So, if our perception of the outside world can be poor and deceiving, why should we expect intuition to do any better?Īxe tries to offer a very down-to-earth definition of intuition as he claims that our design intuitions are universal. Even when looking at stuff visible to the naked eye, visual illusions fill in the gaps of our periphery.
We cannot see the whole world for what it objectively is, considering there are trillions of microbial species (including the 99.999% still undiscovered) on Earth that go undetected by our eyes. But there is no place for shortcutting in science. I have this nifty idea that intuitive responses are like a heuristic, which is a strategy of taking an alternative problem-solving path meant for efficiency and saving on time. I believe the skeptic is fair when he/she says intuition is irreconcilable with science because intuition is often deceptive and not objective. He exemplifies this intuition by stating that shoes have a shoemaker, omelets have an omelet-maker, a buttoned shirt has a buttoner, and therefore dragonflies, horses, and humans have a designer/maker (see pages 21-22). They may deny it, but it is hard to separate the two when many Intelligent Design apologists, like Axe, are Christians.Īxe argues that we intuitively know complexity's demands for a designer. I see Intelligent Design and Creationism as two bedfellows. So, Axe respects the gnarly experiences of opposing mainstream science from the vantage point of being a scientist himself.Īxe distances himself from creationism by stating that creationism is about clinging to "a particular understanding of the Biblical text of Genesis," but intelligent design merely restricts itself to "a purposeful inventor." He admits there is a logical leap in assuming that 'intelligent designer' means 'God.' Intelligent design takes a minimalist view (see page 48). Axe worked at research centers wherein Alan was a director (see pages 1-3). Having been a colleague to Stephen Hawking helps to brighten Alan's eminence. In his earlier days, Axe had befriended the eminent British scientist and Cambridge University professor, Sir Alan Fersht, who used multi-disciplinary biology and chemistry to study proteins. He is not trying to do it from his mom's basement nor by trolling on the internet with ideas made out of thin air.
This Caltech graduate is trying to subvert the theory of evolution from the laboratory. Before I give my long-winded, naturalistic rebuke against intuition, I should give credit where credit is due:ĭouglas Axe is a real research scientist.