Intelligent Tenure

Iowa State astronomy professor Guillermo Gonzalez–well known for being a proponent of Intelligent Design–was recently denied tenure. The Discovery Institute obviously expressed concern, but the decision also prompted some criticism from the general public.

In general, tenure exists to permit the unrestricted exploration of ideas in academia. A professor who is granted tenure can pursue research interests that may be seen as controversial or speculative without risking their job security. From this argument, some claim that Gonzalez was denied tenure in order to maintain scientific homogeneity of ideas–in particular with relation to Intelligent Design.

There is a basic flaw in this line of reasoning, though. Gonzalez and others maintain that Intelligent Design is a scientific theory, an assertion rejected by most of the scientific community. This is not a bias toward one theory over another; rather, it is an acknowledgment that Intelligent Design is not science, and therefore is best left outside of the scientific realm. An idea is a valid scientific hypothesis if it is falsifiable in principle. Gravitation, relativity, string theory, astronomy, and evolution cannot ever be demonstrably proved, but all of these ideas can be falsified–that is, we could design an experiment that, if successful, would show the idea to be false. Intelligent Design, however, fails this criterion: no conceivable physical experimental outcome can falsify the notion of a Designer.

The Discovery Institute and other Intelligent Design proponents will no doubt try to make Gonzalez out to be a martyr, but this is expected since they are trying to force the acceptance of an outdated (and useless) definition of science. There is nothing wrong with a scientist who also happens to believe in a designer, but there is a problem–as Iowa State properly recognized–when a professor insists on applying non-scientific principles within the scientific community.