Teleological Argument Flashcards
What does ‘telos’ mean?
End or result.
Is the TA a priori or a posteriori?
A posteriori
The TA is the argument from…
design.
What are the 2 types of the teleological argument?
Design qua purpose + design qua regularity
Which one of Aquinas’ 5 Ways is the TA?
The 5th way
Everything in the natural world that does not think for itself… (TA)
aims towards a goal and is directed by God.
What sort of laws, set up by God, direct us? (TA)
Natural laws
Who is associated with design qua regularity?
Aquinas
What did design qua regularity say?
Regularity of succession - we follow certain laws that lead us to results
Cause + effect
God caused unchanging scientific laws
Linked with Aristotle’s final cause
According to design qua regularity, why do we have a design and purpose and why do we follow natural laws?
Because God caused us to.
What are some weaknesses of Aquinas’ design qua regularity?
Swinburne - Too many assumptions
No examples of things having to have purpose.
Flew - saying things have a director goes against the available evidence.
Who is the main person associated with design qua purpose? What are his dates?
William Paley (1743-1805)
What did Paley say about the world?
The world is full of examples of design.
What example did Paley use? What does it mean?
The Watch.
It has a purpose.
It works to fulfil its purpose.
It has an ordered construction.
If it was made differently it wouldn’t work.
Thus a watch must have a designer, “who comprehended its construction and designed its use”.
If the watch had a special feature, it would imply it had a designer with “the presence of intelligence and mind”.
What does the analogy of the watch mean?
The complexity of nature means there must be a grand designer.
