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philosophy > Design argument > Flashcards

Design argument Flashcards

1
Q

The DA is described as …………. and …………

A

A posteriori

inductive

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2
Q

List the 4 main sholars

A

Tennant
Aquinas
Swinburne
Paley

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3
Q

What is proportional observation?

A

We can learn a lot about God from what he created. Paley suggests for God to create such intelligent design he must be omnipotent.

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4
Q

Describe Paley’s anaology

A

MECHANISTIC compares the watch to the world as he infers from design that both exhibit diverse functions for an overall purpose.

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5
Q

Design qua purpose is associated to?

A

PALEY

AQUINAS

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6
Q

What 3 words describe Paley’s analogy

A

Paley argued, exhibits the same order, complexity, and purpose

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7
Q

all the small adaptations in nature were for Paley, proof of a ……

A

Providential designing intelligence

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8
Q

What is the Archimedean perspective and who criticised this?

A

we observe the world as its inhabitants but we view a watch from the outside.

HUME

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9
Q

What is Paley’s quote about the watch analogy?

A

Paley- ‘several parts are framed and put together for a purpose’.

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10
Q

Who does Lacewing support and what does he say?

A

Lacewing- ‘This coordination, the detail and intricacy of interrelations between parts,suggests planning- a plan that follows a purpose’.Supports Paley

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11
Q

What does Dawkins say about Paley’s watch analogy?

A

‘The only watchmaker in nature is the blind force of physics’.

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12
Q

Who do Wilkinson and Campbell support?

A

Wilkinson and Campbell support Hume ‘by choosing a machine as our analogy, we have already determined the outcome we want’.

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13
Q

What does Hume say about anthropomorphism?

A

Hume- doesn’t tell us anything about the nature of the designer. If effects resemble causes the world suggests an inferior deity ‘ashamed of his lame performance’.

Hume an empiricist and sceptic- the analogy doesn’t support the God of classical theism but rather an anthropomorphism view of God.

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14
Q

2 describing words for Hume

A

Empiricist and sceptic

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15
Q

What is transcendent

A

The problems of evil and suffering: a watch can break down and become faulty and the world can too. We are less competent than the designer and therefore do not understand all the mechanisations of the world. God of Classical Theism is transcendent we cannot understand a timeless, non-corporeal being.

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16
Q

What does Mill and Dawkins say?

A

Mill, empiricist, evil in the world does not support a benevolent God. God not worthy of worship and Dawkins would say God is a sadist who enjoys spectator sports. God of classical theism has omnipresence, unlike Hume, who suggests the God may have moved on.

17
Q

What does A.J Ayer and Hume say?

A

Hume- We have priori knowledge of watches but not of worlds, this is the only world we have experienced. A.J Ayer we have limited experience of design. Unless we can say what the world is like without design, we cannot claim that the world is designed.

18
Q

Why is Paley’s an unsound analogy?

A

Mechanistic unsound analogy according to to Hume. Analogical argument drawing on something we know and something we don’t know, Hume suggests the world and the watch are two completely different things. Comparing the universe to a carrot you would suggest self-regulation.

How can you draw an analogy between that that which is limited and imperfect to that which we claim is unlimited and perfect.

19
Q

What is a criticism of Aquinas?

A

Darwin and evolution- intelligent life has evolved from primitive organisms through ‘survival of the fittest’. Follows Occam’s razor.

Hume- epicurean hypothesis our world evolved from random chance. Evolution is not heading anywhere so it can’t fulfill God’s plan. e.g. Monkeys left with a typewriter would type out a Shakespearean sonnet as one of the random possibilities in time.

20
Q

What does Flew say in response to Hume?

A

Flew questioned the validity of monkeys typing out the Shakespearean sonnet, the world needs a multitudinous number of factors.

21
Q

What does Swinburne say in response to Humes several deity

A

Doesn’t follow Occam’s razor

22
Q

What does Aquinas say about non rational beings?

A

Non-rational beings work towards a goal, something must be directing them to do so. Such behaviour patterns rarely change and lead to the best result. This result is beneficial (there must be a purpose to them). The end is achieved designedly not fortuitously (by chance).

23
Q

What is the Aquinas quote

A

An example is the plant by acting in the same way it obtains the best result. This plant lacks knowledge and has therefore been directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence and this being is God. God is the ‘guiding hand’.

24
Q

What is beneficial order and what is the criticism of this?

A

Things in the universe work towards an end or purpose, this could not have happened by chance because the objects themselves do not acquire the intelligence to work towards an end or purpose consequently non-rational beings are directed by intelligence, God. Therefore God is the explanation of beneficial order.

However can we assume that God is the cause for order e.g. could be evolution.

25
Q

Give a quote from Swinburne

A

‘the universe fits perfectly for the development of human life’.

26
Q

What does Swinburne say about co-presence

A

Universe works together in an orderly fashion

‘performing a great symphony’.

27
Q

Explaining regularities with other regularities offers no explanation, God is the finite explanation. Science explains the DA through evolution but that evolution in itself also needs an explanation consequently Swinburne supports Aquinas’ idea of God being the
first cause.

What is the quote Swinburne uses?

A

‘I do not deny that science explains, but i postulate God to explain why science explains’

28
Q

What does Swinburne say about design qua regularity

A

‘The same laws of nature govern the most distant galaxies we can observe through our telescopes as operate on earth’
From the knowledge of gravity, we can avoid accidents which shows the hand of a caring God.

29
Q

What is Dawkins criticism of Swinburne

A

evolution is random and chance it does not have a purpose we are ‘grotesquely lucky to be here’.
‘Natural selection has no vision, no foresight’

30
Q

How does Polkinghorne support Swinburne

A

Polkinghorne- ‘beauty of natural laws suggest they did not just happen by chance’.

31
Q

What is Tennant’s quote on the aesthetic principle?

A

Music art and literature are the handicraft of God ‘beauty seems to be superfluous and to have little survival value’.

32
Q

Explain the strong anthropic principle

A

inevitable human life should come about, given the structure of the universe was constructed in one specific way.
Universe has finetuned laws of nature that it was inevitable life would develop. A slight change in these laws of nature then life would not develop.

33
Q

How does Tennant challenge darwin

A

Tennant- ‘The survival of the fittest presupposes the arrival of the fit’.

34
Q

It could be suggested from Tennant and Swinburne the universe is also designed for cancer, why is this an issue?

A

Contradicts a benevolent God of Classical Theism

35
Q

What would Tennant say to those who think design isn’t sufficient

A

evolutionary system underpins direction and progress. God is not bound by human conceptions of perfection and adequate design, everything is fulfilling its purpose.

36
Q

Give the main points of conclusion

A

it is only an inductive argument based on probabilities only
the evidence is ambiguous
DA is a test of faith and so will not change the mind of an atheist.

Theists would suggest that the explanation of the epicurean hypothesis does little justice to the mystery of human existence.
Although for theists the DA has lasted the test of time, some atheists would use scientific, enlightenment thinking as the explanation for design.

philosophy (2 decks)

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