Aliens find a Ferrari on Mars!

So now that I have your attention, how do you think an alien who found a Ferrari on his planet would go about figuring out if it was the product of intelligent design or natural selection? What type of investigation and what kind of evidence could they use to determine such a thing?

I think the aliens would do the very same thing we would do – they would use empirical, philosophical, and forensic evidence to try to solve the problem.

Empirical evidence is the type of evidence done by observation and experimentation – the type scientists use. This type of evidence will help, but it will never be able to tell the aliens if the car is designed by outside intelligence. It can tell the aliens what the chemical composition of the car is, whether it’s simple or complex, etc. But it cannot tell them if it’s a product of a mind.

If on the other hand, it is the product of a mind, we can rule out a natural cause and conclude that it was designed by an intelligent agent. In addition, empirical evidence can’t tell them or us the name of the person who assembled the Ferrari, designed it, or drove it – so empirical evidence is limited in what it can tell us.

But this begs the question; what is intelligence and how do you test for it?

                               Merriam-Webster defines it like this:

                                       (1) :  the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations :

                                                         reason; also :  the skilled use of reason

                                       (2) :  the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think

                                                          abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests)

Based on that definition, intelligence is not a material thing that can be seen under a microscope. Oh sure, you could test a person for intelligence against a standard that you have created, but testing a “person” presupposes some kind of intelligence exists in them already. Intelligence is the brain’s ability to reason, solve a problem, memorize large chunks of data, and be creative. But who determines the criteria? Would we be testing them against our perception of reality and level of intelligence, or is there a higher more perfect level of intelligence that we all are being measured against and trying to attain to? Science presupposes the existence of intelligence and assumes personhood behind it. And I believe that a personal, perfect, immaterial standard of intelligence exists outside of ourselves that we intuitively work toward.

Assuming intelligence is personal and it’s standard is immaterial, we have another hurdle to overcome in testing for intelligence. Please notice that intelligence is a test of a person’s reasoning ability done by another person. In other words, intelligence is the product of a mind, not just a brain (molecules), and it requires another mind to recognize it! In other words, is intelligence the product of a mind (a person) that can rationally process data received from the body’s senses, or is it just any output of the molecules in your brain reacting to various stimuli?

If it’s just reactive output, without an immaterial self and without the ability to reason, how can you determine if intelligence even exists? It’s just a molecular reaction caused by the laws of physics acting on your brain matter. Maybe the conclusions you come to are just the way the molecules and chemicals in your brain are reacting – how would you know? Either way, dissecting and examining pieces of a Ferrari under a microscope and experimenting on them, cannot determine that it was or wasn’t the product of an intelligent person. A Ferrari that isn’t alive and doesn’t have an immaterial self cannot exhibit intelligence – it’s just a pile of molecules waiting to be started and driven!

To take it one step further, what if the intelligence that created the Ferrari is exponentially greater than your intelligence? How are you going to be able to figure that out? If the intelligence of the designer is so far beyond yours, what standard can you use to determine that – the complexity of the object you’re examining?

That begs the question; would observing the engineering and integration of the parts lead you to conclude that it is so complex that it couldn’t be designed?

For some reason, this is what some scientists conclude when examining our cells, our brains, and our bodies. Our brains seem to be incredibly complex, highly designed and remarkably cognizant. If scientists can conclude that our brains aren’t designed, but are the product of evolution and natural selection, couldn’t they do the same with the Ferrari? The question then becomes: Is complexity and design a product of intelligence, and does that intelligence point us to a mind behind it.

I think it does, but your answer to the last question will determine whether you conclude that the Ferrari is the product of a person (agent causation), or the product of nature (event causation). Please be sure to look for the next article where we will go through the process of using forensic evidence to determine the Ferrari’s existence – until then, don’t speed past the facts and get yourself a ticket.