DA Flashcards
What are design/ teleological arguments?
An argument that suggests God as the intelligent designer that explains the order of our universe
What does teleological mean?
It derives from the greek word telos, and means an end or final goal, so, a teleological argument suggests that nature was designed with a purpose in mind.
What is the design argument as presented by Hume?
-Non deductive teleological argument from analogy
Human artefacts have spacial order, a form of teleological property whereby parts are arranged in space with a high complexity so that they work toward a purpose. Nature itself also has spatial order. Human artefacts have spacial order as they were designed by an intelligent being. Similar effects have similar causes. Therefore, nature has spatial order as it has been designed by an intelligent being. Natural entities are much more intricate that human artefacts, which requires much greater intelligence. Therefore this intelligent being
What is spatial order?
Patterns of order within something in space at one instant of time. e.g the arrangement of an eye
What is temporal order?
Patterns of behaviour of objects over time. e.g the laws of nature
What is Paley’s design argument?
-Deductive teleological argument
Nature itself has spatial order, which is a teleological property where parts are arranged in space to achieve a purpose. e.g an eye, and the function to see.
Nature can only have spatial order if it were designed by an intelligent being.
Therefore an intelligent designer exists.
Natural entities are of much greater complexity, so this requires much greater intelligence. Therefore, this designer must be very intelligent.
The designer cannot be part of nature as nature itself has parts that need explaining.
Therefore this designer must be outside of the external world.
Therefore God exists
What is Swinburnes Design argument?
The universe as a whole contains temporal order, and there are two ways to explain this. The first is a scientific explanation, and the second is a personal explanation. Science fails as science can only explain temporal order in terms of more fundamental temporal order. It cannot suggest where it originated from. The personal explanation is better as human temporal order( such as the singing of a song) has a personal explanation, so it is likely that natural temporal order (laws of science) also have a personal explanation. Because the whole physical world contains temporal order, the free intelligent being in question would have to have designed the whole world, and so must be immensely powerful and intelligent, free and disembodied. Therefore God exists.
