The “Flawed Design” Argument, Essay Example

The flawed design argument against intelligent design is one that says certain parts of animal anatomies are suboptimal and that therefore this contradicts the idea of an intelligent designer. One such example is that the trachea and esophagus share a common opening, making choking more likely than if they had separate openings. However, many intelligent design theorists point out that this certain design flaw allows humans to breathe through their mouth and expel water from the lungs more easily. The larger point here is that small changes made to improve one function in animals could very quickly lead to a host of other problems. The fact that we are overexposed to choking is worth it for the benefits this system has.

Another example used by opponents of intelligent design has to do with the way the eye is constructed. Photoreceptor cells are deeply embedded in the eye, any light that reaches them must pass through other layers of the eye apparatus. The meaning is that we can not perceive what we otherwise would if these cells were more exterior on the eye. However, the counterargument is that these photoreceptor cells need great deals of oxygen and nutrients to function properly. They need great deals of capillaries to run to these cells for them to function properly. If the photoreceptors were on the other side of the eye, these capillaries would block the vision.

The flawed design argument sees certain parts of our anatomy, and other anatomies in the animal kingdom as poorly designed. For this reason, they assume that they were created without purpose in mind. However, these examples usually show the opposite. The flaws are the only things preventing other more serious flaws. This shows a purposeful design, putting the esophagus and trachea opening together passes a cost against benefit analysis, a sure sign of intelligence in the process.