What’s the “Eye Argument” for the existence of God? Can you recommend any scientific books or websites that discuss this claim? Why does the the Eye Argument fail to demonstrate the existence of God?
Posted: November 12th 2010
SmartLX www
The “Eye Argument” is the most famous example of what Intelligent Design proponents eventually labeled “irreducible complexity”.
The argument is often summed up with the rhetorical question, “What is the use of half an eye?” Evolution by natural selection develops biological features gradually, but the eye contains several components which work together to produce the apparently clear vision we enjoy. If you remove any part of it the whole ceases to function, so how was the eye at all useful in any intermediate state before everything was in place? The punchline of the argument is that it must have been guided to its current state by a designer, or even created in its current state by a Creator. Therefore, there must be a god.
The response to this is firstly that the different components developed in concert for much of their existence, and secondly that a partially formed eye or one without certain components is demonstrably useful. Blurred vision still lets you see large objects approaching and run away in case they want to eat you. Even a proto-eye feature as simple as a light-sensitive patch lets you know what time of day it is, or which way is up. Many different animals, for instance the nautilus, have less complex types of eye which they nevertheless rely on to survive.
For scientific references, Richard Dawkins is a great start. He tackles the subject in The Blind Watchmaker (among other writings), and in the documentary based on the book there was a simple animation of a possible development pathway for the eye. Later, in a televised lecture, he demonstrated the different phases practically.
Posted: November 15th 2010
Mike the Infidel www
The 'eye argument’ is the argument from design; the argument that the design of the eye is so magnificent that it couldn’t have evolved and must have been made by God.
The problem is that we know very well that not only is our eye not that well designed (what with the blind spot and all), but there are other animals with far better eyes. Our eye has all the hallmarks of having evolved clumsily over eons – signs that it, like all other aspects of life, just went with what worked at any given point in time (since anything that didn’t work at that point wouldn’t have survived).
Posted: November 14th 2010