Direct creation
Direct creation is a term of convenience to refer to all theories of creation in which an external force is invoked as an explanation. ("Direct creation" theories can also collectively be described as "interventionist models" of creation.)
Scope
Among those theories positing direct creation are the various varieties of creationism as well as the informal theory of intelligent design.
Direct creation theories generally attempt to explain one or more of the following (usually all of them):
- The origin of humanity (i.e. human beings)
- The means whereby Earth became populated by all species presently known
- The origins of life on Earth
- The creation of the Earth
- The creation of the universe
While direct creation does not necessarily invoke supernatural forces or entities (e.g. the idea that life on Earth was seeded from extra-terrestrial life is compatible with direct creation theories of the origins of life on Earth), such theories seem generally to be motivated by religious belief rather than being an objective interpretation of available evidence.
Objections
The two main problems with these theories, in general, are:
- They do nothing to improve our understanding in that they imply the existence of a far more complex entity (God, super-powerful aliens, or whatever) than the thing whose creation they attempt to explain, thus raising far more questions than they answer.
- None of those currently extant are true scientific theories, in that they make no specific testable or falsifiable claims, and hence there is no way to either prove or disprove them. This also makes them counter-scientific theories.
Popularity
One probable reason for the popularity of such ideas is that although they open up far more questions than they answer, they are very simple to understand (a meme-ish trait).
It also seems likely that religion is responsible for much of the spread of direct creation and other religion-based theories, as those theories help to promote memes supportive of religion and suppress other memes threatening to it.
Related Pages
Links
Video
- Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Creationism