Teleological Argument Flashcards
Teleological Argument
An argument for the distance of God starting with observed design and purpose (telos)
Design qua Purpose
Design ‘as relating to’ purpose
Design qua Regularity
Design ‘as relating to’ the regular cycles and natural laws of the world
Which Scholar is in Main Reference to the Teleological Argument?
William Paley
What analogy is used for design qua purpose
the watch - a man walks across a heath and finds a rock (the existence of the rock is due to nature), he continues to walk and finds a watch he concludes that the watch had a purpose
Why does the watch have a purpose?
Each tiny cog, wheel and balance inside the watch mechanism contributes to the measurement of time - Paley compares the complexity and purpose of the watch with things in the Universe that also show purpose
Other examples
- the birds wing is designed for the purpose of flight
- fins of a fish are designed for the purpose of swimming
Even if we had never seen a watch before, we would still infer a designer
just as we have not seen God or another world
Even if the watch did not work perfectly (just as there are faults in the world) there is still evidence for design
Paley’s argument is not addressing the quality of the design
Examples of Design qua Regularity
The relationship between the planets, the regular rotations of the planets and predictable effects of gravity - these could not come about without a designer
Hume Criticism #1 - Weak method of reasoning
- universe might have been designed by many Gods, just as a machine is made by many hands
- universe is not like a machine, it is more appropriate to compare it to a living organism which is growing and changing
Hume Criticism #2 - Religious worth, designer doesn’t have to point to God
- universe might have been designed by many Gods
- perhaps our world was a false attempt of an infant deity who abandoned it
- some designers are faulty and inadequate, perhaps the designer was inadequate, perhaps even a non moral God
Humes Epicurean Hypothesis
with infinite time and an infinite number of possible combinations, our universe would have come into existence at some point anyway
Charles Darwins criticisms
- If species survive due to adaption, there is no need for an ultimate designer
- if evolution is a random, there is no overall purpose or planned design, then design is merely chance
