The Design Inference

Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities

By: No Information Available

Write A Review

Paperback | 20 March 2006

At a Glance

Paperback
264 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.4

Paperback

RRP $63.95

$61.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $15.44 with

or

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

The design inference uncovers intelligent causes by isolating their key trademark: specified events of small probability. Just about anything that happens is highly improbable, but when a highly improbable event is also specified (i.e. conforms to an independently given pattern) undirected natural causes lose their explanatory power. Design inferences can be found in a range of scientific pursuits from forensic science to research into the origins of life to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This challenging and provocative 1998 book shows how incomplete undirected causes are for science and breathes new life into classical design arguments. It will be read with particular interest by philosophers of science and religion, other philosophers concerned with epistemology and logic, probability and complexity theorists, and statisticians.

Industry Reviews

"...quite readable. Those who have no knowledge of the mathematics of probability may be put off, but in fact the level of mathematics and symbolic logic employed is not very difficult...The main arguments...are given in ordinary prose, then translated into symbols...Dembski has made a real advance in probability and information theory..." Books & Culture "...generally careful and precise, often persuasive, and at times surprisingly philosophically sensitive." Ethics "Dembski has produced an astonishing work. The Design InferenceR^ will no doubt become the cornerstone of the intelligent design movement. A marked and dog-eared copy of The Design InferenceR^ deserves a place on your shel not just for its clear historical significance, but also to allow yourself a place in the momentous discussion to come. Philosophia Christi

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $0.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

More in Philosophy & Logic

Bloomsbury Study Skills

Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection

Paperback

RRP $39.99

$33.94

15%
OFF

The Laws of Thought

The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF

Light on Yoga

The Definitive Guide to Yoga Practice [Thorsons Classics Edition]

Paperback

RRP $27.99

$23.49

16%
OFF

Rationality

What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF

The Logic of Scientific Discovery

Routledge Classics

Paperback

RRP $34.99

$24.99

29%
OFF

How Not to Be Wrong : The Power of Mathematical Thinking - Jordan Ellenberg

$27.99

Collective Studies in Knowledge and Society

Knowing in a Complex World

Hardcover

RRP $150.00

$134.75

10%
OFF

Analogy and Exemplary Reasoning in Legal Discourse

Hardcover

RRP $96.99

$86.99

10%
OFF

Rationality

Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives

Hardcover

RRP $242.00

$211.75

12%
OFF

Deleuze's Philosophy of Time and Logic

Kant, Bergson, and the Labyrinth of the Continuum

Hardcover

RRP $170.00

$151.75

11%
OFF

The Unsaid

Hermetic Poetry Between Hermeneutics and Deconstruction

Hardcover

RRP $180.00

$159.75

11%
OFF

Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition

1800-1950

Paperback

RRP $170.00

$141.75

17%
OFF

Critical Thinking : The Basics - Stuart Hanscomb

$77.75

Philosophy of Language

A Contemporary Introduction

Hardcover

RRP $305.00

$263.75

14%
OFF

Philosophy and the Human Sciences

Hardcover

RRP $210.00

$184.75

12%
OFF

Accommodationism in Mathematics

Reference, Knowledge, and Realism

Hardcover

RRP $305.00

$263.75

14%
OFF

Metaphysics of Nature and Failure in Kant's Opus Postumum

Hardcover

RRP $59.99

$58.75

Logic Before Language

Rethinking AI in the Age of Illusion, Bertrand Russell and the Future of Real AI

Hardcover

RRP $252.00

$219.75

13%
OFF

Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition

1800-1950

Hardcover

RRP $59.99

$58.75

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgment	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Historical overview	p. 1
The man with the golden arm	p. 9
Intellectual property protection	p. 20
Forensic science and detection	p. 22
Data falsification in science	p. 24
Cryptography (and SETI)	p. 26
Randomness	p. 32
Overview of the design inference	p. 36
The Explanatory Filter	p. 36
The logic of the inference	p. 47
Case study: The creation-evolution controversy	p. 55
From design to agency	p. 62
Probability theory	p. 67
The probability of an event	p. 67
Events	p. 72
Background information	p. 73
Likelihood	p. 75
The best available estimate	p. 81
Axiomatization of probability	p. 88
Complexity theory	p. 92
The complexity of a problem	p. 92
Problems and resources	p. 97
Difficulty and its estimation	p. 99
Axiomatization of complexity	p. 106
Calibration through complexity bounds	p. 110
Information measures	p. 114
RMS measures	p. 118
Technical supplement on RMS measures	p. 130
Specification	p. 136
Patterns	p. 136
The requisite precondition	p. 137
Detachability	p. 145
Specification defined	p. 151
Pyramids and presidents	p. 154
Information tucked within information	p. 156
Prediction	p. 159
Increasing the power of a complexity measure	p. 160
Caputo revisited	p. 162
Randomness revisited	p. 167
Small probability	p. 175
Probabilistic resources	p. 175
The Generic Chance Elimination Argument	p. 184
The magic number 1/2	p. 190
Statistical significance testing	p. 199
Local and universal small probabilities	p. 203
The inflationary fallacy	p. 214
The Law of Small Probability	p. 217
Epilogue	p. 224
References	p. 231
Index	p. 239
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

The Design Inference

Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Philosophy & Logic

Bloomsbury Study Skills

Effective Analysis, Argument and Reflection

The Laws of Thought

The Quest for a Mathematical Theory of the Mind

Light on Yoga

The Definitive Guide to Yoga Practice [Thorsons Classics Edition]

Rationality

What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

The Logic of Scientific Discovery

Routledge Classics

How Not to Be Wrong

The Power of Mathematical Thinking

Straight and Crooked Thinking

Collective Studies in Knowledge and Society

Knowing in a Complex World

Analogy and Exemplary Reasoning in Legal Discourse

Rationality

Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives

Deleuze's Philosophy of Time and Logic

Kant, Bergson, and the Labyrinth of the Continuum

The Unsaid

Hermetic Poetry Between Hermeneutics and Deconstruction

Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition

1800-1950

Critical Thinking

The Basics

Philosophy of Language

A Contemporary Introduction

Philosophy of Language

A Contemporary Introduction

Philosophy and the Human Sciences

Accommodationism in Mathematics

Reference, Knowledge, and Realism

Metaphysics of Nature and Failure in Kant's Opus Postumum

Logic Before Language

Rethinking AI in the Age of Illusion, Bertrand Russell and the Future of Real AI

Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition

1800-1950

Nature of Information

Shaping Reality, Life, and Consciousness

The Nature of Belief

Logic-Based Therapy and Consultation

Theory and Applications

This product is categorised by