Arguments For The Existence Of God: Aquinas’ Teleological Design Argument

Question 1

What are Aquinas’ 5 ‘ways’?

Answer 1

Argument from…
1. …motion
2. …efficient cause
3. …contingency
4. …gradation
5. …design

We will focus on the 5th way

Question 2

What observation/empirical evidence is the argument from design based on?

Answer 2

The observation that natural beings and non intelligent things seem to behave in a way that moves them towards a certain goal/purpose (telos).

Question 3

What does the fact objects move with regularity in a goal directed way rather than randomly, show?

Answer 3

That it is not mere chance - design.

Question 4

What is needed in order for things to move towards a telos?

Answer 4

Direction & guidance from an intelligent being.

Illustrated by the arrow & human metaphor.

Question 5

What are the premises & conclusion of Aquinas’ argument from design?

Answer 5

P1: The behaviour of objects is goal directed towards an end because they follow natural laws.
P1: Natural law cant have been created by objects themselves since they are non-intelligent or at least sufficiently so.
C1: Natural laws must have an intelligent designer - ‘that thing we call god’.