Dawkins: Lecture 2. Designed and Designoid Objects ( 2 of 6)

Dawkins: Design and Designoid Objects

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[mevsthor]

Can someone help me out I'm not really getting it. Dawkins said that all designed things are good for a purpose and then started to show us pots made by insects that serve a purpose and called them designoid objects. Don't the pots made by insects serve a purpose and wouldn't that make them designed objects? I must be missing something.

[DrMontague]

They are not consciously designed. An insect didn't get out a pen and paper and draw up a blue print for making a pot. Insect pots have changed very little over millions of years. It is simply instinct that allows them make a pot. Compare this to houses that ARE designed by mankind, they come in all sorts of shapes , sizes, and can be made of many different materials.

[Anonimuss22222]

but wait, arent the wasp pots designed by wasps?

[DrMontague]

The pots come about by instinct not conscious action. i.e. design of the pot has stayed the same over millions of year. Now compare this two human house design, we have many shapes. sizes, colours and materials for house building.

[victimlesscriminal]

The beauty & variety in nature far, far-strips the phantasmal beauty of 'heaven' posited by the religious.

Looking at the complexity of the designoids that Dawkins cites, it's not difficult to understand, though, how primitive humans inferred design &, since they knew they themselves did not design the objects, they invented a designer-god.

What's very sad is that in the C21st, when we know so much more, Islam and other religions choose to remain ignorant of all this wonderful knowledge.

[DrMontague]

It is sad indeed esp. when during the first Crusades the Christian scholars were absolutely amazed by the leaps in science the Muslim scholars had made. I.m sure if Mohammed had of known of evolutionary theory he would have accepted the evidence for it.

[hipp6y]

these lectures are absolutely delightful, i have goose bumps all over. thank you so much for posting!

i wish someone had taught me biology at school like he does...

[Snookimichev]

@DrMontague Agreed. I heard Mohammed was a very smart person. I think we could have reasoned with him.

[Snookimichev]

@DrMontague Since "designoid" is Dawkin's term, you may be right. I wouldn't call animial-designed objects designoid, though. It's difficult to define "conciousness." For example, crows are among the most intelligent animals and I think it knows what it's doing when it's constructing its nest. Should the nest be called designoid? I don't think so. Maybe, it's clearer if we simply say animal-made or man-made.

[mevsthor]

Thank you

[gamesbok]

''Go to the ant, thou sluggard ,and consider her ways, and be wise'

Proverbs 6.6, King James Bible.

You're stretching a point Zionist.

[gamesbok]

It wasn't a scientist who told QV that, but a doctor (Doctors are into witchcraft, not science, or at least they should be. They should be interested in effects, not causes). Scientists, ever since Gallieo have known that a moving reference frame would be invisible to physics.