An ISU professor and advocate for Intelligent Design defended his theory in front of faculty members from Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls on Wednesday night.

Guillermo Gonzalez, professor of physics and astronomy, visited Northern Iowa to promote the consideration of Intelligent Design as an actual science.

Gonzalez began the lecture with a scientific analysis of the Intelligent Design theory, introducing several books written about the subject in the mid-1980s and providing an explanation of the basic “scientific” tenants of the theory.

“Our thesis for ‘The Privileged Planet’ is the same characteristics that make a planet habitable also make it the best overall place for scientific theory and discovery,” Gonzalez said.

He said he came to this conclusion based on research and not through theological doctrine. He said the discussion of the theory being rooted in religion is not applicable.

Gonzalez addressed questions from the audience regarding creationism and the absence of inductive reasoning in the theory.

“The implications of culture must be taken out of Intelligent Design. Darwin made it possible to be a fulfilled atheist, and Darwinism stands and falls on facts, not on the personal views of people,” he said. “I wish people would treat Intelligent Design the same way.”

When asked if Intelligent Design could be a theory for everything, Gonzalez responded, “We’re not claiming that there is one designer – there could indeed be many different designers.

“Any part of science that implies a designer without actually seeing the designer does the same thing,” he said.

Near the end of the discussion, Gonzalez responded to a question about what the theory could do.

“If we never use this theory, we may never find that there are indications of design in the universe beyond what we have already found,” Gonzalez said.

Paul Shand, UNI professor of physics and president-elect of Sigma Xi, the science research society that sponsored the event, said the discussion went very well, and the goal of exchanging ideas in a civil way was accomplished.

Shand said although he sees no problem with the theory being presented as an idea in a university setting, it runs into problems when it is presented as a science.

“Obviously, there are people like Professor Gonzalez that would like to convince people that Intelligent Design is a science, but I don’t see them as being easily convinced,” he said.