Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Philosophy Topic 1 > Teleological Argument > Flashcards

Teleological Argument Flashcards

1
Q

What is the teleological argument?

A

The design argument

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is an a posteriori argument?

A

Relies upon empirical evidence to come to its conclusions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is an inductive argument?

A

Leads us to a possible conclusion and we must assess how likely of a conclusion is made

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is a synthetic argument?

A

Uses empirical evidence to come to its conclusions and makes statements which are checkable with empirical evidence

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is an analogical argument ?

A

Draws comparisons of analogies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Aquinas says that there are 5 types of design. What are they?

A
  • order
  • purpose
  • organisation
  • regularity
  • complexity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the archer and arrow analogy?

A
  • Aquinas points out that an inanimate object can’t direct itself towards the purpose for which it exists because it does not have the intelligence to do so but it needs an intelligent being to point it towards its purpose to ensure that it achieves it.
  • An arrow can’t move towards its target unless an archer directs it…the universe and the content of it can’t move towards its purpose unless it is directed by a kind of holy/spiritual/celestial archer (God)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Who came up with the archer and arrow analogy?

A

Aquinas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Aquinas noticed _____ works with regularity and how does this give evidence that there is a god?

A
  • Aquinas noticed that the universe works with regularity. He noticed that the planets and natural bodies work with regularity, order and repetition as though like a machine
  • this gives evidence that there is a God as something can’t just come about that is that complex and where all the parts work together. There must have been a creator.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What does Aquinas believe?

A

Things that lack knowledge can’t achieve anything unless they directed by a thing with knowledge. Therefore, there is an intelligent being that directs everyone towards a purpose

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Who came in with the analogy of the watch?

A

Paley

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the analogy of the watch?

A
  • You would not one day just see a watch lying on some grass which has been planted there with no designer. It must have been designed as it is very complex.
  • A watches parts have been placed and put together for a purpose so that it works. So there must ha been a designer with intelligence to have made this watch / designed for the purpose that it now serves,
  • Paley points out that all the features in the watch point us towards the conclusion of having an intelligent designer which the world also contains
  • Paley also goes on to compare the pocket watch with other aspects of the world or within the world ie an eye.
  • they all have purpose, order and complexity. We therefore MUST have a designer who designed all of this
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What kind of argument is Paleys ?

A
  • a posteriori
  • analogical
  • synthetic
  • inductive
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are some criticisms that Hume makes of the cosmological argument using the assumptions of causality?

A
  • The cosmological argument begins with familiar concepts but tries to conclude unfamiliar concepts concepts
  • we can’t assume the laws of cause and effect exists - it’s an interpretation of sequential events
  • we have never witnessed a universe being made so we can’t know if it was caused
  • human considered our senses to be the base of all knowledge
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Explain Humes criticism of “why must we conclude that the universe had to have a beginning?”

A

How can anything that exists from eternity have a cause? Hume suggested necessity of a first cause is an assumption - it is possible to suggest that something can exist without a cause. If the universe is a result of infinite regress - no other explanation is needed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

explain Humes criticism of “Assuming God is the first cause = undesirable conclusions if the wish is to demonstrate the God of classical theism”

A
  • By ascribing the qualities we see inside the universe to the universe as a whole - we would have to assume the causes have the same kind of quality
  • Wouldn’t the finite universe be caused by something finite?
  • Casual agents could be flawed
17
Q

explain Humes criticism of “Similar effects doesn’t equal similar causes”

A

We know about causes in our universe but that does not give us reason to conclude about the universe as a whole.
The essential principle being assumed in the cosmological argument is that nothing comes from nothing.
This is a correct assumption about the Earth, it can’t be verified incorrectly.
Hume denies Aquinas’ wood analogy by saying anything can create anything (no need for the cause to not be in order to create something else) if Hume is correct, Aquinas’ very first premise fails and his conclusion too

18
Q

explain Humes criticism of “ we have never witnessed a universe being made so we can’t know if it was caused”

A

To make this inference to its cause is a posteriori which is invalid

19
Q

explain Humes criticism of “Hume considered our senses to be the base of all knowledge”

A

Therefore, he argued the cosmological proof can’t be accepted as given proof of the existence of God outside of the world known through our senses

20
Q

Explain Humes Billiard Ball Analogy

A

He suggest if you were presented with an object that you have never come across before - it wouldn’t be reasonable for you to suggest what is cause was and what it supposed to be. If a suggestion was made, it would be entirely imaginary

21
Q

Who came up with the anthropic and aesthetic arguments?

A

Tennant

22
Q

What is the anthropic argument?

A
  • The universe is so precise that if it was slightly different, we would not be here.
  • The very fact that the natural world in which we live in provides the exact conditions that are necessary for life to be sustained on earth, can’t be chance
23
Q

What is the aesthetic argument?

A
  • Tennant’s argument claimed that humans possess an ability to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings e.g. enjoy art, music, literature,
  • This appreciation of beauty is not necessary for the survival or development of human life and so can’t be a result of natural selection.
  • This aesthetic sense of humans therefore provides evidence of a divine creator.
24
Q

what does Hume mean by “stop comparing the world to machines, the world may share more characteristics with something else?

A
  • The world may share more characteristics with a carrot rather than a watch.
  • If this is the case, we should not resort to intelligence as the governing principle.
  • Could be something instead like regeneration or growth that could account for the universe in the same way that could account for the carrot
25
Q

What is Aquinas’ 5 way?

A

Suggests that many objects don’t have the intelligence to work towards an end purpose themselves. Therefore, they must be directed by something that does have intelligence. There must be an intelligent being and that being we call God

26
Q

What is humes objection about how there is ONE god?

A

A committee of gods may have designed and created the universe. The analogy of the ship can be used here: this is a product of many hands and design is not just one. There is no evidence that there is just one great designer.

27
Q

What is Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection?

A

Darwin‘s theory of evolution and natural selection rejects the concept of a divine creator as we evolve through time, we get rid of all of the qualities that do not manage to work in the world that we live in. This is not down to a divine creator, it is down to evolution and natural selection

28
Q

What is a criticism from Hume about the design argument about a spider or snowflake?

A

Appearances of design doesn’t imply actual design. Snowflakes look designed, as do spiders webs – yet they aren’t an intelligent designer. It’s just as easy to assume that the universe might have been spun from a spider

29
Q

Criticisms of the watch analogy - blind spot

A

When we are talking about a watch, it is obvious that it had a creator. We can take it apart and see clearly how everything fits together, how the hands move etc but there is a lot in the natural world that isn’t understandable in the same way e.g why would God have designed our eyes to have a blind spot?

30
Q

Response to the eye blind spot argument

A

Paley responded that it do she matter whether we can understand how something was created. The point is that it was. We don’t know the inner workings of our phones but we know it had a creator

31
Q

What is another argument made by Hume for the watch analogy?

A

He pointed out that if we were to take the analogy seriously, we need to conclude that God makes a lot of mistakes e.g hurricanes or tissue in our bodies that are so prone to cancer etc.

“A flawed world, implies a flawed god”

Philosophy Topic 1 (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions