God and Design

Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. Terms such as "cosmic fine-tuning", the "anthropic principle" and "irreducible complexity" have seeped into the public consciousness, and increasingly appear within discussion about the existence and meaning of God. Brought together in this accessible yet serious introduction to the design problem are new perspectives, both sympathetic and critical, from some of the world's most prominent scientists and philosophers including Michael Behe, Adolf Grunbaum, Michael Ruse, Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne and Sir Martin Rees. Opening with the difficulty of how design is to be detected in the world and how the hypothesis of intelligent design can be understood, contributors go on to question the concept of "fine-tuning" in the fundamental physical parameters of life.;Questions raised include: What is reality, in scientific, neo-Platonic and theological terms, and how might we genuinely describe and discuss it?How can we infer, or even conceive o

'Neil Manson has done an excellent job in assembling such a comprehensive and star-studded cast of contributors. He has also written a very useful introduction himself that identifies all the main areas of debate ... this book is likely to remain the best guide to it for some time to come.' - Fraser Watts'As this collection shows, the debates about God and design are far from dead, and can be intellectually fascinating.' - Religious Studies'This collection is successful in illustrating the main questions relating to the discovery of a Design from scientific arguments.' - 'This volume is a rich discussion for and against arguments from order, intelligibility, and purposefulness to the existence of a designer, who might be God.' - Bijdragen, International Journal in Philosophy and Theology'This book comes highly recommended ...' - The Secular Web'This volume is to be recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate classes on philosophy of religion and philosophy of science, among other more specialized courses focused on design arguments.' Amos Yong, Regent University of Divinity, Religious Studies Review

Neil A. Manson currently teaches at the Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. A former Gifford Research Fellow in Natural Theology at the University of Aberdeen, he has a long-standing interest in the science and religion debate.