Arguments From Observation For Existence Of God Flashcards
Aquila’s fifth way step by step ( teleological)
- world consists of non thinking beings that lack intelligence
- everything obeys natural laws so act predictably
- these beings have purpose like bees collecting honey
- beings are directed to this purpose by an intelligent being
- intelligent being is god
Aquinas teleological example
An arrow achieves its purpose of hitting the target after being directed by the archer.
Criticisms of aquinas
- purpose may be a human construct as natural things may not have an innate purpose
- logical fallacy as he assumes intelligent designer has characteristics of and is the classical theistic god which is a leap in logic
- Sartre - Aquinas assumes things in the natural world have a purpose
Paleys watch analogy
The watch is carefully designed by the watchmaker to perform its purpose of telling the time, compared to naturally mechanical things like birds wings purpose is to fly, lacteals system of producing right amount of milk for amount of babies.
Design qua purpose
Parley reached his conclusion after watch analogy that the purpose of natural things must be designed by a conscious mind which is god
Design qua regularity
Infers a designer due to consistent order and patterns in the world like gravity and rotation of the planets.
What if the watch is broken
It is still clear the intended purpose of a watch even if it is nor working, broken wing
What if the purpose of all parts of the watch is not clear
Even if purpose of all parts isn’t clear the watch as a whole has a clear purpose indicating design
Criticism of paley
- Natural disasters indicate poor design or no design
- what is the purpose of a wasp
- law of entropy suggests a tendency towards disorder in the world, ice cube melting.
Humes Teleological Criticism - problems with analogies
Aquinas analogy of blood circulatory system compared to sap in plants is a mistaken conclusion as these are very different, universe isn’t mechanic so can’t be a watch it is more like a growing cabbage.
Humes Teleological Criticism - problems with observation
Fallacy of composition as paley sees purpose in parts of the world he assumes universe as a whole has a purpose, balance scales
Humes Teleological Criticism - first rude attempt of an infant deity
Imperfections in the world due to it being an infant deities first attempt at making a perfect world so things went wrong then the world is cast aside.
Humes Teleological Criticism - epicurean hypothesis
Alternate explanation for universe and infinite time with finite particles would fall into order by chance creating universe.
Criticism of Hume in teleological
- paley doesn’t argue that there’s a purpose behind the whole world
- couldn’t throw pieces of the watch in the air and expect them to land in the shape of the watch, less probable to argue for chance
- Hume makes fun of the argument takes it too far as many agree designer but don’t argue religion or charcteristics
Darwin theory of natural selection
Creatures most suited to an environment will survive and pass on favourable characteristics. Survival of the fittest as adaptations occur and most useful characteristics will reproduce but less favourable one’s will not and so die out. Argues purpose of natural world is due to natural selection and evolution not an intelligent design. It is a random process no overall purpose.
Darwins example to illustrate natural selection
Finches on the Galápagos Islands, differing islands the finches would have different beaks adapted to the food source, harder beaks for cracking seeds and longer beaks for eating insects.
Dawkins blind watchmaker
Argues natural selection is a blind process and has no foresight, if doesn’t plan for design, it is a very slow gradual process. Complexity doesn’t imply design
Criticisms of materialism in teleological
- tenants aesthetic principle that humans have appreciation for arts and beauty which is unnecessary in survival of the fittest natural selection world, benevolent designer who seeks to give pleasure
- morowitz argues chances of protein molecule occurring is 1 : 10 power of 236 so not random
- unlikely purpose is chance as the eye seems perfectly designed complexly
Aquinas way 1
- motus as motion meaning continuous movement from potentiality to actuality.
- nothing can move or change alone but there can’t be an infinite regress of movements.
- must be an unmoved mover which began motus and can’t be moved.
- this is god
Aquinas way 2
- World of efficient causes but nothing can be its own cause.
- there can’t be an infinite regress of causes
- must be a first cause which is uncaused itself but begins the chain of causes and effect
- uncaused causer is god
Aquinas way 3
- everything in the universe is contingent so it can exist but also not exist
- could be possible for a time when nothing existed
- however something can’t come from nothing so something must have always existed
- a necessary being which is the source of necessity for all things is god
Supports of Aquinas cosmological
Coppleston - everything in the universe is contingent and it is the sum of its contents so is contingent, depends on something external to exist
Leibiniz - series of books has been printed each one copied from the last, but there is no explanation for the reason the books exist or why there was a first book.. needs to be sufficient reason explaining the series of books as a whole, Aquinas does this to explain the universe.
Criticisms of Aquinas cosmological
Russell - existentialism the universe is just there without explanation, uncaused objects like quantum particles just occur
Kant - cause and effect are imposed by humans on the world, noumena world can’t be experienced by the senses, there can’t be a first caused
Mackie - infinite regress could be possible, series of hooks
Humes criticisms of cosmological - inductive reasoning
Collects data from observations leading to probable conclusions, sun rises today so it must rise tomorrow, cause and effect can be observed in nature but can’t be extended to the whole universe this can’t be known, inductive leap
Humes criticisms of cosmological - infinite regress
Doesn’t have to be impossible
Humes criticisms of cosmological - fallacy of composition
Every effect in the world has a cause then world must have a cause, assuming same for whole world as of its parts, 20 particles have singular causes but as a whole they don’t have a cause.
Humes criticisms of cosmological - nature of god
Logical fallacy in assuming unmoved mover is the god of classical theism or even a god at all.
Humes criticisms of cosmological - special case
Why is god a special case why does he not have a cause and how is it known he doesn’t, universe could be necessary itself
Criticisms of Hume in cosmological
Inductive - observations from the past must be made to survive
Fallacy of composition - anscombe rabbit out the hat must surely have a cause
Infinite regress - evidence of neither possible or impossible
Nature of god - could be a deist god not theistic god
Russells mother argument
Fallacy of composition, every has a mother doesnt mean the universe has a mother
Critique of Aquinas idea of necessary
Using Aquinas reasoning methods of oberservation of the world, one can infer that the idea that necessary being can exist is impossible as there is no observational evidence to suggest it.
Polkingthorne support of the teleological argument
Difference between expanding and contracting forces in the universe to create the world randomly in a fine balance of total energy is 10 small 60
