Arguments Based On Observation Flashcards
What do A Posteriori arguments for God’s existence use?
Observation or experience to reach the conclusion God exists.
What do A prior arguments for God’s existence use?
Logic to reacg the conclusion that God exists.
What are the A Posteriori arguments for God’s existence?
The Teleological and Cosmological arguments.
Who is the main thinking behind the Teleological Argument?
Thomas Aquinas.
What was Aquinas inspired by?
Aristotle.
What does Teleological mean?
To do with somethings purpose or goal or end point.
Which one of Aquinas’ five ways is his Teleological argument?
The fifth way.
What does Aquinas focus on?
How we achieve out purpose.
What observation does Aquinas make that is the base for his argument?
That things that lack knowledge (e.g. natural bodies) act for a purpose/end.
Aquinas believes things seem to act for an end because of luck. True or false?
False. He believes this happens by design not luck.
Anything that lacks knowledge needs… what? According to Aquinas.
Something with knowledge to guide it.
Who does Aquinas believes guides things that lack knowledge?
God.
What is an Analogy?
A comparison between two things in order to help us understand the less familiar thing.
What analogy does Aquinas give to support his conclusion that things which lack knowledge need a thing that had knowledge to guide them?
The arrow and the archer.
What other thinking can be used to support the Teleological argument?
William Paley.
What observations does Paley make which founds his argument?
That order in the world seems to be the result of a designer.
What two Analogies does Paley give to support his argument?
The eye, and the wings of a bird.
Why does Paley use the eye as an analogy?
The eye seemed to have been constructed deliberately with the purpose to see. This is evidence of design.
Why does Paley use the wings of a bird as an analogy to support his argument?
There seems to be design behind them as they work so well.
For Paley who must this designer be?
God.
What other Analogy does Paley give to show evidence of design?
The watch Analogy.
What does Hume say the world is more like than a watch?
A vegetable.
Who challenges the Teleological argument?
David Hume.
Who wrote first? Hume or Paley.
Hume.
