[Buddha-l] life force vis a vis Xianity & Hinduism

[Peter D. Junger]

SJZiobro at cs.com writes:

: This is a clever contribution.  My question: Why as one theory among others i
: n a post-Modern society are arguments for intelligent design deemed unaccepta
: ble?  Here is another and related question: Why should a theory that posits a
: ccidental origination as a viable explanation to the complexity of the univer
: se be a better one than a theory that posits an intelligence that in some way
:  guides in accord with this complexity all things in their complex interactio
: ns?  

I think that we are getting off topic here, although I suppose that
from a Buddhist point of view it is hard to see why an intelligent
designer would come up with a world that has dukkha as its primary
attribute.

It is in fact quite clear that if we and pandas and other critters 
are not the product of _intelligent_ design, although that does not 
rule out the posibility of stupid design.  (And, of course, the theory
of evolution has, like Buddhism, nothing to say about the origins
of anything.)

On the other hand, complexity theory establishes mathematically that 
extreme complexity can develop in accordance with various causes
and condition from very simple beginnings.

(N.B.: "causes and conditions" is Buddhist terminology.)

--
Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
 EMAIL: junger at samsara.law.cwru.edu    URL:  http://samsara.law.cwru.edu