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Philosophy > 1B Ontological Argument > Flashcards

1B Ontological Argument Flashcards

1
Q

what does design qua regularity mean

A

Ordering regularity in the universe
evidence of a design at work

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2
Q

what is aquinas’ fifth way ‘taken from’

A

‘the governance of the world’

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3
Q

summarise aquinas’ fifth way

A

Something that likes intelligence cannot move towards fulfilling a useful end, unless something with intelligence has moved it
Things that follow the laws and fulfil their telos; but cannot think for themselves must have been ‘directed by something else’ and for aquinas this must be God

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4
Q

what analogy did Aquinas use for his fifth way

A

bow and arrow
an arrow cannot reach its target by itself, it must be ‘firected by the archer’
he related this to the workings of the universe and everything follows natural laws even if it possesses no intelligence

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5
Q

where does one of the most ancient teleological arguments come from

A

cicero’s ‘De Natura Deorum’
45 BC

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6
Q

give a bible passage that supports the teleological argument

A

Psalm 19
‘The vault of heaven reveals his handiwork’

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7
Q

what does ‘design qua purpose mean

A

the parts of the universe appears to fit together for a purpose

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8
Q

when was design qua purpose developed

A

17th centry in response to the new mechanistic physics
newton discovered the universal laws of gravity and motion
many scientists saw the universe as a ‘machine’ with all parts working together
it was no longer necessary to believe that God caused the movements

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9
Q

who was william paley

A

an english christian minister, the archdeacon of carlisle and a philospoher
he advocated for natural theology

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10
Q

what was william paleys book

A

natural theology (1802)

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11
Q

what is the first part of paleys argyment about

A

design qua purpose

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12
Q

outline the first part of paley’s argument

A

if one were to discover a stone on a health, one may conclude that ‘ot had laid there for ever’
if one were to discover a watch on the ground, one would conclude that, as it is so complex, it did not come into existence by chance
an intelligent person would infer that it had a designer
we would draw this conclusino even if:
- we were unaware of purpose
- we didnt understand some of its parts
- if it went wrong
the universe is too complex to exist naturally so it connotes to a designer

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13
Q

give a quote from paley to summarise the first part of his argument

A

“every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature”
nature is “greater and exeeds all computation”

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14
Q

what four examples of detailed workings does paley give to support the first part of his argument

A

eye
birds wings
fish’s gills
lacteal system

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15
Q

what is the second part of paley’s argument focused on

A

design qua regularity

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16
Q

outline paley’s second argument

A

the rotation of the planets and how they hold their orbits is due to gravity
this perfect force of nature could not be by chance and an external agent must have imposed this regularity and order

17
Q

who was arthur brown

A

a 20th century philosopher

18
Q

what does arthur brown support

A

design qua purpose

19
Q

how does arthur brown support design qua purpose

A

our planet is the only planet in our galaxy with an ozone layer
the purpose of the ozone layer is to filter out uvtraviolet rays to protect and preserve life
this could not have happened by chance

20
Q

who was F.R. Tennant

A

a british theologian and philosopher
he advocated theistic evolution in his work and a harmony between science and religion

21
Q

what was tennants book called

A

philosophical theology

22
Q

what were tennants arguments called

A

the anthropic and aesthetic arguments

23
Q

what is significant about tennants arguments

A

he was one of the first to put foreward a design argument that included the acceptance of evolution
he believed that creatures do not randomly evolve, they make progress
life forms become more intelligent and increase in moral awareness

24
Q

according to tennant what three types of natural evidence suggests a designer

A

the world can be analysed in a rational way
the inorganic world provides necessities to sustain life
evolution has led to intelligent human life

25
Q

what is tennants anthropic principle

A

natural laws are fine-tuned (cosmically/ cosmic fine tuning) to allow human life to exist
if gravity or atmospheric gases were even slightly different, human life could not exist
tennant argues against the claim that the universe is a change of coincidences
since the universe and everything in it is regular and ordered rather than random and chotic, it is reasonable to suggest it is the result of intelligence

26
Q

explain scientifically how unlikely our existence is

A

the mass density of the universe is finely balance to permit lifebang to a degree of one part in 10 (to the power of 60)
if the universe were slightly more massive, an overabundance of deuterium from the big bang would cause stars to burn too rapidly for the formation of complex life
if the universe were slightly less massive, an insuffiency of helium would result in a shortage of the heavy elements - again, resulting in no life

27
Q

what is the strong anthropic principle

A

the universe must have the properties that make existence of intelligent life inevitable
the conditions are intrinsic to the big bang

28
Q

what is the weak anthropic principle

A

it is impossible to observe a universe that does not permit the existence of observers

28
Q

what is the participatory anthropic principle

A

an observer is needed to cause the collapse of the wave function

29
Q

what is tennants aesthetic principle

A

we have an appriciation for beauty, but it is not needed for survival and does not perform a utilitarian function
no other species appreciate beauty
there is no evolutionary advantage for humanity in being able to create poetry or appreciate a sunset
the process of natural selection and survival of the fittest would have no need of it because it is superfluous
it is evidence for a loving God because he has put it here for our enjoyment
According to Tennant, God wanted His creation to enjoy living in the world

30
Q

give a quote from tennant to explain how he views beauty

A

‘biologically superfluous accompaniment of the cosmic process’

Philosophy (25 decks)

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