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. This provocative book shows how incomplete undirected causes are for science and breathes new life into classical design arguments. It will be of particular interest to philosophers of science and religion and to those concerned with epistemology, logic, probability, complexity theory, and statistics.

William A. Dembski is a mathematician and philosopher who serves on the board of directors for Discovery Institute and is a Distinguished Fellow of The Walter Bradley Center. Bill is the author/editor of more than twenty books as well as the writer of many peer-reviewed articles spanning mathematics, engineering, philosophy, and theology. Bill is an entrepreneur who builds educational software and websites. He lives in Denton, TX.

Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Overview of the design inference; 3. Probability theory; 4. Complexity theory; 5. Specification; 6. Small probability; 7. Epilogue; Notes; References.