I don't have good definitions, but I will offer some thoughts on each:
INTELLIGENT
To a metaphysical naturalist, a human brain is simply a mechanism. A brain does things just like a volcano does things. What makes a painting intelligent and a lava flow unintelligent?
DESIGN
For design to work there must be a goal. Nature has no goal. We humans believe we have goals and design things, but are we actually any different than moss growing on a tree? Does the moss have a goal to grow on the shady side of the tree? Does the moss design?
CAUSE
Imagine a cannon ball traveling on a trajectory and impacting on a castle wall. What is the cause of the impact on the castle wall? An equation defines every point in the trajectory. Does the past cause the future or does the future cause the past? Of course there is an arrow of time connected to entropy and so forth, but it seems to me that "cause" loses all meaning when we apply to a reality before the universe existed. The First Cause argument doesn't work for this reason IMO.
So those are my thoughts. I'm curious what others think.
Completely disagree that nature has no goal. The goal of nature is to sustain man on this earth for an appointed time.
Upvote
0