F. R. Tennent’s design arguments Flashcards
What were the two main arguments made by Tennent in response to Darwin?
Tennent argued that the evidence of design in nature could not be discounted simply because some aspects of it could be explained by natural processes like evolution.
He also maintained that even if evolution could account for some features of living organisms, it did not negate the need for a designer to set the process of evolution in motion or to guide it.
What is the strength of Tennent’s design arguments?
Tennent’s arguments assert that God’s existence is necessary for evolution to occur, therefore circumventing evolutionary explanations and reinforcing the need for a divine creator.
What does Tennent’s aesthetic principle argue?
Tennent suggests that evolution alone cannot explain human perceptions of beauty, as they do not directly confer survival advantages. Therefore, he argues that God’s intervention in evolution is necessary to explain the existence of beauty in humans.
What counterarguments can be made against Tennent’s aesthetic principle?
Critics argue that human perceptions of beauty may serve evolutionary functions, such as mate attraction, even if not directly advantageous. Thus, it is difficult to assert that our aesthetic sense has no evolutionary basis.
What is Tennant’s anthropic principle?
Tennant argues that the universe’s unique properties, including its orderliness and suitability for life, suggest that it has been specially designed to allow human life to exist.
What is a criticism of Tennant’s anthropic principle?
Despite the precise conditions on Earth, the vast size of the universe and the large number of planets make it likely that there are many Earth-like planets by chance alone, undermining the need for a special explanation like design.
