I would be interested to know where those who are so strongly inclined against even considering the design hypotheses stand on SETI. Does not SETI co Good and fair question, Jim. As one who is completely comfortable with the general framework of evolution (and one who believes that ID is absolute hoo-ha) here's my take.

We have increasing proof that complex organic molecules exist all around the universe. I expect that we may eventually find that simple life is an almost inevitable process of the chemistry. BUT THAT IS NOT PROOF. As far as the famous Drake equation (the equation wherein you calculate the number of possible planetary systems * number of habitable planets * time needed for a civilization to evolve, etc), it's all fun and interesting speculation. BUT THAT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT PROOF. A great many people find it appealing to believe there are other civilizations out there. Maybe so, maybe not. Nobody wants to be alone, and some people use a God to keep them company, while others use alien civilizations. But we don't even have evidence of those civilizations, much less irrefutable proof. In other words, we don't even have a hypothesis, much less a theory. I think it's fine to search for signals from other civilizations. At the very least, we've learned a lot about information theory from the process. But no reputable scientist could claim we know whether or not anyone's there. Michael