Professor Steve Fuller on the Rich Tradition of Intelligent Design

Intelligent Design the Future

Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture

Science, Life Sciences, Society & Culture, Philosophy, Astronomy

4.3 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of ID the Future, host Casey Luskin begins a two-part conversation with University of Warwick professor Steve Fuller to reflect on the historical and philosophical foundations of intelligent design (ID) and the 20th anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial. Fuller, an expert witness in the Dover trial and a scholar in the history and philosophy of science, challenges the popular "conflict thesis" that suggests that science and religion are perpetually at war. Instead, he describes a different historical understanding where modern science originated from a theological foundation, noting pioneers like Newton and Galileo, who viewed the universe as an intelligible machine designed by a divine mind. This tradition suggests that the very project of science was launched by the belief that human minds, created in the image and likeness of God, are capable of uncovering the logical laws governing reality. The conversation delves into why intelligent design should be viewed as a rich, interdisciplinary research tradition rather than a modern invention. Fuller explores the concept of biomimicry as a form of reverse engineering nature to uncover the hidden engineering elements within organisms. While Luskin notes that ID can be approached through purely scientific observations of intelligent agency, Fuller argues that theology remains a vital component because it explains why the designer uses "code" or the "logos"—be it in DNA or mathematical laws—as a creative medium. This insightful first part of a two-part series highlights how ID integrates biology, engineering, and information science to offer a comprehensive explanation for the complexity of the natural world.

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0:00.0	And I think if you, if you look at it that way, namely the way in which we think about the mind
0:06.6	of manifesting itself in nature, you know, as a form of creative agency, right?
0:11.5	It is through a kind of, you know, execution of a code.
0:15.2	Let's put it that way.
0:16.0	And I think that's a very, again, a very distinctive specification of the kind of intelligent mind we're talking about.
0:27.6	ID, The Future, a podcast about evolution and intelligent design.
0:34.1	Welcome to ID the Future.
0:36.1	I'm Casey Lask, an associate director with the Center for Science and Culture, and today we have a real treat for the show. As many of our listeners may know, the 20th anniversary of the Kitsmiller v. Dover ruling is soon upon us. And we have on the show today with us, Professor Steve Fuller at the University of Warwick, who was an expert witness in the trial supporting
0:54.9	the Dover School District's ID policy. Professor Fuller earned his infill at Cambridge University
1:00.4	in the History and Philosophy of Science, and then his PhD in the History and Philosophy of
1:04.4	Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He is now Auguste-Compty Chair in the Social
1:10.3	Epistemology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
1:15.3	He's a fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
1:21.1	Steve, it's great to have you on the show with us today.
1:23.6	Well, thanks for having me, Casey.
1:25.8	Well, I'm going on about four hours of sleep in a nasty cold.
1:28.7	So this should be an interesting conversation about the 20th anniversary of the Dover trial.
1:33.2	But I think it's long overdue that we've had you on our podcast because you've said so much about the ID evolution conversation over the years.
1:41.7	What is your background in the ID evolution debate and what first
1:45.0	got you interested in this subject? Well, I mean, there's a lot of ways to begin the story,
1:50.0	I suppose. I mean, I'm someone who, in terms of my training, even before going to university,
1:56.5	I was trained in Jesuit schools. And so I was very familiar with the sort of the intimate connection between the histories
	...

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