Teleo Flashcards
Teleological arguments
Appeal to the observations of order, regularity, complexity, purpose or beauty in the universe. It is inferred that these observed properties cannot have arisen by chance, and so must have been designed by some intelligence - God.
Design qua purpose
Observations of complexity, intricacy and interconnectedness in the universe appear purposeful. Through observations of this apparent purpose we can infer design.
Design qua regularity
Observations of the order and regularity in the natural world suggest an intelligent designer. Through observations of this apparent regularity we can infer design.
Inductive argument
An argument based on empirical premises where the conclusion goes beyond what is contained in the premises. The conclusions of an inductive argument are probable rather than certain.
Analogical argument
An argument which compares two things and infers that because they are alike in one (observed) respect, they are also alike in another (unobserved) respect. The strength of an analogical argument depends on how similar the two objects of comparison are.
Aquinas’ Fifth Way
P1: Things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end.
P2: Whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence.
For example, an arrow does not direct itself towards its target, but needs an archer to direct it.
C: Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end…and this being we call GOD.
Paley’s Watch
P1: A watch has certain complex features; it consists of parts, each of which has a function, and they work together for a specific purpose.
P2: Anything which exhibits these features could not have occurred by chance; it must have been designed.
IC: (From 1&2) An intelligent watch-maker must have designed it.
P3: The universe is like the watch in that it has the same features, except infinitely greater.
C: (From 2&3) Therefore, the universe, like the watch, has been designed, except by an infinitely greater universe-maker - GOD.
Similarity Maxim
A principle used by Hume in his criticisms of the teleological argument which states that ‘like effects have like causes’, i.e. two things that are similar in their effects (probably) have similar causes.
Evolution
The change in the properties of groups of organisms over the course of generations…it embraces everything from slight changes in the proportions of different forms of a gene within a population to the alterations that led from the earliest organism to dinosaurs, bees, oaks, and humans. (Douglas Futuyma)
The three mechanisms of evolution:
Mutation is the original source of new sequences of DNA.
Selection, either natural or sexual, where specific traits are non-randomly favoured and are more likely to become frequent in subsequent generations.
Genetic drift, where random change in frequency of specific traits over subsequent generations. (Random matings, population bottlenecks.)
Through genetic mutations (variation), some organisms are better suited to their environment, whilst others become less so.
Those best suited, do well and pass their genes to offspring whilst less (even dis) advantageous genes die out. This leads to adaptation.
Where there are sudden environmental changes, or intense competition, only the ‘fittest’ survive.
Theistic Evolution
Supported by F.R. Tennant. A theological view that God creates through laws of nature.
Intelligent Design
The proposition that modern scientific discoveries have provided evidence of authentic design, particularly in biochemical systems. The apparently designed fit of organisms to their conditions of life necessarily implies the existence of an intelligent designer
Irreducible Complexity
Main claim: some biological systems reveal a degree and a kind of complexity, particularly at the biochemical level, which cannot plausibly be explained by Dawinian natural selection.
This kind of complexity is ‘irreducible complexity’: “a single system composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.”
According to natural selection, changes in an organism occur through gradual, successive steps, where each change brings some advantage to the organism. This doesn’t work for irreducibly complex systems.
It’s not impossible that natural selection should allow multiple parts of a system to come into existence simultaneously but this becomes less probable if systems are extensively and irreducibly complex.
If we are not produced by the unintelligent, undesigning process of natural selection, we must have been produced, in part, by an intelligent designer.
each change must bring about some benefit to the organism. If a benefit only occurs after a sequence of changes, natural selection can’t explain why the sequences would have continued to this point (where there was no benefit to any number of changes).
A position proposed by Michael Behe in response to the challenge of evolution. He argues that there are things in the world (such as bacterial flagellum and the human eye) that are irreducibly complex; in other words, the arrangement of parts in an irreducibly complex system could not have evolved in gradual, successive steps but must have come into existence simultaneously.
Anthropic Principle
Coined by Australian physicist Brandon Carter in 1974 to denote that the kind of observer we are sets the parameters for the kinds of physical conditions we’re likely to observe.
Weak Anthropic Principle
The weak version of the principle states that what we can expect to observe must be restricted by the conditions that make our presence as observers possible. Observations of life-permitting anthropic effects do not require this kind of explanation because if the universe were unable to support life then there would be no one to observe it.
Strong Anthropic Principle
The strong version of the principle states that the universe must have those properties which allow life to develop within it at some stage in history. It has been interpreted many times in many different ways and is often used to support a teleological view of the universe.
