Isn't it more likely of intelligent life being created by chance as opposed to intelligent design?

Question

I don't really bother with religious debates normally, I understand peoples reasons to believe in whatever they believe in. I guess I'm pretty much an atheist considering that I view things from a rational perspective and any kind of god just does not fit in with that. Anyway, to my question.

I could go on about religion but I don't want to sound like an elitist narcissistic atheist so my question is:

Isn't it more likely that amongst the billions of planets in our expanding universe, somewhere in this massive expanding space, the conditions would've just happened to be exactly right for the creation and evolution of intelligent life instead of believing that it was created by a god or creator?

I've heard the argument from what seem to be called christian scientists. I've heard one give a relatively extensive lecture on his beliefs and basically all it came down to is:
It is far too unlikely that something as complex as human beings were created by chance so this is proof of a creator.
I find this argument rather misguided unless I am missing something.

As I already said and I'll say again, amongst the billions or trillions of planets, in all the solar systems, in our infinitely expanding universe, I honestly find it quite unlikely that intelligent life wouldn't exist somewhere. This also explains the lack of life seen outside of our own planet, we pretty much are the lucky 1 in (something like) 1,000,000,000+ in my eyes. Doesn't justify any creator in my eyes.

Answer 1

You need to go back further. Look up the "fine-tuning argument."



You also need to ask the question: "Why is there something rather than nothing." Look up the "contingency argument."

Answer 2

Hmpf.



Mars may have had life at one time. The jury is still out on that one. As for exoplanets with life, we know only about 700 exoplanets and there a few where the biosphere would support liquid water. Until we visit, we won't know for sure whether there is life.



But do this exercise, stacked-bar graph. The pale grey bar as tall as the empire state building is the age of the earth. 9/10 of the way up is a mark where single-cells began. On top of that first bar, the yellow bar as thick as a dime is the amount of time man has been here, and on top of that the green bar as thick as a postage stamp is the time man has had the technology to detect exolife signals. A chemical coating of glue on the stamp above that is another bar where man could detect exoplanets. Now to visit, detect exolife even in a primitive form and report back is many, many postage stamps. (say 1800 years for Kepler-22b).



Life is actually likely, given the right conditions. There may be other forms as well, besides carbon-water bases. Just remember that our detection of exoplanets right now is rather... interesting. If we had better instruments located properly, our detection might increase. But to find life means we don't look at planets 20 million years old and say "dead". Our "where is everybody?" question -- look at the empire state building...



Of course, this does not imply or deny the existence of a Rule-Maker who set up the design of this universe, or at least what we can perceive of it. Most of the ID stuff I have seen is back to the 6000 year old earth and is thinly-disguised Creationism.

Answer 3

I agree with you totally. When there are some 10 billion trillion stars in the universe, you would expect that a few such stars would have the right conditions for life purely by chance alone.



@ Victor B and Bubble you are both wrong. In terms of operations per second, the human brain is on the order of 10^15 or 10^16 ops, which is comparable to modern supercomputers. But the human brain is massively parallel, and the interconnections between neurons are extremely slow.



The human brain is also adept, or can learn to become adept, at an nearly infinite variety of things, while computers are only extremely good at a few things.

Answer 4

If I'm to believe in evolution, I wouldn't be able to decide life could only happen under one certain set of circumstances. If everything was chance, why couldn't there be different circumstances in which life was created? Why, in all those billions or trillions of planets, with every difference between them imaginable, could none but those that meet OUR specifications spawn life? I personally don't get evolutionists idea of how life started anyways. What turned the inanimate into life? What started it? What could possibly happen to turn a cell that would otherwise be a rock or gas or what have you, into life?

Answer 5

You are right, all evidence points to a slow and environmental driven development. It is also the cast that as we study other animals we find more evidence of how intelligence works.



One problem for the Creationist or IDst is 'Why would a god bother to invent an animal like the Chimp, an animal with a very him IQ (equal to a 4 year old child)?'



There are so many holes in the Creationists argument as to make a Swiss Cheese seem totally solid.



The planets is one of them. A argument they use is that earth is so accurately placed to support life, it could not be accidental. That would hold if there was only one planet, however we now know there is probably billions of planets that fit the 'Cinderella' state.



NB:

I see I have three thumbs down already, wow the idiot Creationists have shoved their joint head in the sand of superstition and BS.

Answer 6

You can only say something is likely if you know if you have a number. For example I can tell you how likely a die will fall on any particular number because I know how many numbers there are. Unless you know how likely it is that life could come by chance your arguments are meaningless. `



Your ability to take numbers out of thin air is pretty clear.



"we pretty much are the lucky 1 in (something like) 1,000,000,000+ " in in one billion of what???



I'm sure you mean well but you have got your fundamentals wrong

Answer 7

The possibility of there being "at least one" other intelligent species also gives rise to the possibility of many more since having only two of something is just as unlikely.



Just consider, about ten years ago people thought our star was the only one in our galaxy that had planets around it.



Now we have found about 700 planets orbiting other stars.



Edit: and I thought intelligent design was already debunked.

Answer 8

I can see why you don't bother with religious debates, it is because you are so bad at them.



1) Evolution does not occur "by Chance".

2) Proof does not require one thing to be "less likely" than another. Proof requires evidence.

3) Even if evolution was completely disproved tomorrow, that still is not evidence for ID.

4) There is no debate among scientists between evolution and ID. There is a debate among the world between evolution and a few highly ignorant people, and I don't call that a debate.

5) If you want the other side of the "debate", read the answer here by @Ugly Angel. He offers a bunch of questions, says he has no answers, and rather than look, he makes up an answer. One does not need to be smart to do that, in fact, it helps if one is not.



Additional Details

YOU may refer to christian scientists but SCIENCE does not refer to christian scientists.

Science does NOT start with a conclusion, and then seek evidence.

That is not science. That is imagination.



For people with limited knowledge or information re: your question, Carl Sagan breaks it down for you, here:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_v99FSTYc

Answer 9

Not really...



Consider that the brain of a honeybee, which is practically nothing when compared to the human brain, still outperforms any supercomputer in existence BY FAR. We are centuries away from creating anything even remotely close to computing power of the honeybee brain...and we have to create these pathetic-by-comparison computers ourselves. They don't just put themselves together.



Your argument MAY BE (not definitely be) a legitimate argument for life, but not intelligent life...and even for just the most basic single-celled organism, it is so unlikely as to be legitimately considered impossible.

Answer 10

70 sextillion stars (7+22-zeros). 70,000 million million million. usually 1-3 planets orbit in the "inhabitable zone" around each star. So, if we are one in a million, there are at least 70,000 million million planets with intelligent life. One million is a lot of chances...

Answer 11

The chance of life arising without design is infinitesimal even if you have billions of tries. It didn't happen.



Scientists have been trying for centuries to create life from nonliving matter. The failure of the brightest minds to create life proves that it POOFed into existence by accident. Makes perfect sense.

Answer 12

Wow, I'm going to bed, you are so far back-wards, and many more questions, that I'll wait for a better day.





was working as an Master Electrician, for an Electronic Factory, It was noon, the middle of the day.

I was walking down the middle of an aisle, when the firmament of the heavens, spun into a pillar

and split into a curtain and drew up, revealing Jesus Christ, seated, intently looking at me, as

six others approach HIM, and gathered behind HIM, dressed in "WHITE GOWNS", the Glory of God

all around them, they smiled, and the heavens closed as they had opened."



Excuse me, as I address the so-called atheist, who are really antichrists.



No, God is not dependent on your imagination, He lives forever long ago, and forever more...



The heavens opened at noon at my workplace and I seen Jesus Christ, The Son Of The Living God.



True atheist, don't hang around what they believe NOT to exist, but antichrists do....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iXKIf2XOfA See what Albert Einstein, and others really said,

about God.



Excuse me, as I address the antichrists, whose church is described in Revelation chapter 13...

And who is an antichrist? 1st John ch.2:22" Who is a liar but he that denys that Jesus is The Christ?

He is antichrist, that denys The Father and The Son."

An Antichrist = 1st John 4:3 "And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh IS NOT OF GOD: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and EVEN NOW ALREADY IS IT IN THE WORLD."

Answer 13

@ the bee-brain computer guy



[citation f*ing needed]



To compare computers to organic brains is ludicrous. Of course, you can compare them on basic levels like rate of information intake, and processing power, in which a computer can beat any organic lifeform, hands down.

Answer 14

You are assuming that life is intelligent but it only is on rare occasions.

Answer 15

I have said this many many times that I believe in God and I believe we evolved from monkeys.

Answer 16

You didn't miss anything, it is more likely.

Answer 17

I don't have a problem with evolution.



I have problems with theory of relativity and gravity.

Answer 18

Well done ;)



“Atheism…

The arrogant belief that the entire 125 billion-galaxy universe was NOT created for us.”

~

Answer 19

Actually no; and the more evidence mounts, the more a Creator becomes the most reasonable explanation.



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1680357583183645446#



but people prefer the approval of men more than the approval of God.