http://www.uncommondescent.com/faq/#notsci

1] ID is “not science”

On the contrary, as Dr William Dembski, a leading intelligent design researcher, has aptly stated:

“Intelligent Design is . . . a scientific investigation into how patterns exhibited by finite arrangements of matter can signify intelligence.”

At its best, science is an unfettered (but ethically and intellectually responsible) and progressive search for the truth about our world based on reasoned analysis of empirical observations. The very antithesis of an unfettered search for truth occurs when scientists don intellectual blinkers and assert dogmatically that all conclusions must conform to “materialist” philosophy.  Such an approach prevents the facts from speaking for themselves.  The search for truth can only suffer when it is artificially constrained by those who would impose materialist orthodoxy by authoritarian fiat before the investigation has even begun. This approach obviously begs the question, but, sadly, it is all too common among those who would cloak their metaphysical prejudices with the authority of institutional science or the law.

This is especially unfortunate, because just a moment’s reflection is enough to conclude that it is untrue true that science must necessarily be limited to the investigation of material causes only.  Material causes consist of chance and mechanical necessity (the so called “laws of nature”) or a combination of the two.  Yet investigators of the world as far back as Plato have recognized a third type of cause exists – acts by an intelligent agent (i.e., “design”).  Experience confirms beyond the slightest doubt that acts by intelligent agents frequently result in empirically observable signs of intelligence.  Indeed, if this were not so, we would have to jettison forensics, to cite just one of many examples, from the rubric of “science.”

Just look all around you.  The very fact that you are reading this sentence confirms that you are able to distinguish it from noise.

Moreover, ID satisfies all the conditions usually required for scientific inquiry (i.e., observation, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion):

1.  It is based on empirical data: the empirical observation of the process of human design, and specific properties common to human design and biological information (CSI).

2.  It is a quantitative and internally consistent model.

3.  It is falsifiable: any positive demonstration that CSI can easily be generated by non design mechanisms is a potential falsification of the ID theory.

4.  It makes empirically testable and fruitful predictions (see point 4)test