swimburne teleo argument

Question 1

argument from temporal order/ regularity

Answer 1

Swinburne gives clear limits that his new argument succeeds

• design arguments cant prove god’s existence, but his can prove the existence of a very powerful rational agent responsible for the regularity/ temporal order of the universe.
• his argument relies on analogy? and hence is vulnerable to the criticisms hence may be too weak to support his conclusion -> god is the best explanation.
• he makes the distinction between regularity and order observed in the universe.

spatial order- weakness due to darwin’s evolution theory
temporal order- can avoid these criticisms

Question 2

spatial order

Answer 2

spatial order/ regularities of co-presence
the arrangement of objects in space
eg, the structure of the eye
used by paley, hume

Question 3

temporal order

Answer 3

temporal order/ regularities of succession
the pattern of behaviour of objects over time
eg, newton law of physics
used by swinburne

Question 4

argument in standard form

Answer 4

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Question 5

so for Swinburne, all temporal regularities ultimately can be explained by rational agency

Answer 5

temporal regularities can be explained
1. rational agency (human)
we control our own bodies and it is through our bodies that we are abl3 to act on the universe.
2. explained by laws of nature
2b. explained by more fundamental law of nature
2c. best explained by rational agency a being powerful enough to create an ordered universe.
Swinburne argues that an agent who could directly control the whole universe cant have a body hence it is a free agent who is disembodied.