God, the Devil and Darwin - A critique of Intelligent Design Theory

This monograph presents a comprehensive philosophical critique of Intelligent Design (ID) theory from the perspective of naturalistic philosophy of science. Shanks examines ID's central claims about biological complexity and its purported scientific status, arguing that the movement represents a sophisticated but ultimately flawed attempt to resurrect design arguments in scientific garb.

The work engages directly with leading ID theorists, particularly Michael Behe's concept of "irreducible complexity" and William Dembski's "specified complexity." Shanks demonstrates how these concepts fail to meet basic standards of scientific methodology. He analyzes Behe's bacterial flagellum example, showing how evolutionary biology can account for such structures through well-documented mechanisms like exaptation and scaffolding. The author systematically addresses ID's claims about the inadequacy of natural selection to produce complex biological systems, drawing on contemporary research in molecular biology and biochemistry to illustrate how complexity emerges through natural processes.

Central to Shanks' critique is his examination of ID's methodological commitments. He argues that ID proponents employ a fundamentally negative argumentative strategy—attempting to establish design by eliminating natural explanations rather than providing positive evidence for supernatural intervention. This approach, Shanks contends, violates basic principles of scientific inference and relies on arguments from ignorance. The work also explores ID's relationship to creationism, tracing intellectual genealogies while acknowledging ID's more sophisticated philosophical apparatus.

The monograph situates ID within broader debates about naturalism and theism in science. Shanks defends methodological naturalism not as an arbitrary philosophical commitment but as a necessary condition for productive scientific inquiry. He addresses the charge that evolutionary biology itself requires faith-like commitments, distinguishing between provisional methodological assumptions and metaphysical dogma.

Shanks employs extensive analysis of biological examples and careful philosophical argumentation to demonstrate why ID fails as both science and natural theology. His work contributes to the God debate by showing how attempts to detect divine design in nature face insurmountable evidential and methodological obstacles. The monograph serves as both a thorough refutation of ID's scientific pretensions and a broader defense of naturalistic approaches to understanding biological complexity, ultimately arguing that appeals to supernatural design are neither necessary nor helpful for explaining the natural world.