Teleological Arguement

Question 1

The Teleological Argument

Answer 1

God exists because everything has a telos

Question 2

telos

Answer 2

end or purpose

Question 3

Aquinas fifth of his Five Ways

Answer 3

inanimate things which “lack knowledge” still fulfil their purpose.

Question 4

an example - heart

Answer 4

a heart continues to beat and pump blood around the body.

Question 5

an example - archer

Answer 5

the example of the archer firing an arrow – the arrow needs to be directed to its target by the archer.

Question 6

William Paley

Answer 6

has his own form of the argument in two parts: Design qua Purpose and Design qua Regularity.

Question 7

Design qua Purpose

Answer 7

the universe was designed to fulfil a purpose

Question 8

Design qua Regularity

Answer 8

the universe behaves according to some order

Question 9

Design qua Purpose analogy

Answer 9

A man walks across a heath and finds a rock. He attributes the existence of the rock to nature. He walks further and stumbles across a watch. After examination he concludes that the watch has a purpose and could not have come about without a watch maker or designer.

Question 10

Paley also anticipates and answers potential criticisms

Answer 10

Even if we had never seen a watch before, we would still infer a designer
Even if the watch did not work perfectly (just as there are faults in the world), there is still evidence of some design.

Question 11

can developments in bio-chemistry can be used to support the teleological argument

Answer 11

yes - Harold Morowitz concluded that the universe would have to be trillions of times older and larger for a protein molecule to have occurred by random chance.

Question 12

who made the Anthropic Principle

Answer 12

F.R. Tenant

Question 13

what does the Anthropic Principle mean

Answer 13

this world is finely balanced to allow life to exist.

Question 14

an example of the Anthropic Principle

Answer 14

if the earth was slightly closer or further away from the sun, life could not exist.

Question 15

who made the Aesthetic Principle

Answer 15

F.R. Tenant

Question 16

what is the Aesthetic Principle

Answer 16

humans appreciate music, art and beauty which have no survival value.

Question 17

what did brown note that suggested design?

Answer 17

the thickness of the Ozone layer being just right for life to flourish on earth suggests Design.

Question 18

who criticised the teleological argument?

Answer 18

Hume, J.S.Mill, Charles Darwin and Richard Dawkins

Question 19

Hume’s criticism - first attack

Answer 19

The universe might have been designed by many gods, just as a machine is made by many hands.

Question 20

Hume’s criticism - second attack

Answer 20

The universe might have been designed by many gods

Question 21

Hume’s criticism - third attack

Answer 21

that similar effects do not necessarily imply similar causes. Since humans have limited knowledge, it is impossible to make assumptions about how the universe came to be as it is.

Question 22

Hume’s criticism - fourth attack

Answer 22

He says that it is equally likely that the universe came about by pure chance.

Question 23

Hume’s criticism - fifth attack

Answer 23

Random events occur but order tends to impose itself eventually

Question 24

what does J.S.Mill say

Answer 24

If the creation reflects the Creator, then what does such a cruel world, full of anarchy, death and destruction, say about God?

Question 25

How does this challenge the Teleological argument?

Answer 25

If evolution is a random process, there is no overall purpose or planned Design.
It challenges the status and dignity of humankind. The world is no longer centred around humans. Humans have evolved in the same way as animals.

Question 26

what does Richard Dawkins say

Answer 26

evolution is carried on through random mutations in our which produce the variations in living organisms. This process is “blind” - it has no overall purpose or plan. There is no need for a Designer or God.