The Design Argument

Question 1

Design argument

Answer 1

complexity/beauty in the natural world is evidence of an intelligent creator, God

Question 2

Cicero’s example

Answer 2

sundial and water clock came about by design, so the world, which embraces everything including these, must have a purpose

Question 3

Rabbeinu Behaye’s theory

Answer 3

the world is designed by a designer because it is so subtle in design and manifests its depth and complexity infinitely beyond our comprehension

Question 4

Aquinas’s theory

Answer 4

Things which lack knowledge act for an end, and they always act in the same way to obtain the best result. Hence, it is clear that they achieve their end, not fortuitously (by chance), but designedly.

Question 5

Features of Paley’s design argument

Answer 5

• inductive
• based on a posteriori knowledge
• an example of Natural Theology
• abductive
• analogical
• an example of design qua purpose
• an example of design qua regularity

Question 6

Paley’s design argument

Answer 6

A watch is intricate and complex, with parts that have a specific function. Therefore, it must have a designer. The world/nature is even more intricate and complex, so it too must have a designer.

Question 7

Why Paley’s argument is inductive

Answer 7

the conclusion is supported but not guaranteed. It is probable the world was designed, and the designer was God, but not certain

Question 8

Why Paley’s argument is a posteriori

Answer 8

the results are dependent on experience

Question 9

Why Paley’s argument is an example of Natural Theology

Answer 9

It arrives at a conclusion for God’s existence from ordinary experience available to everyone

Question 10

Why Paley’s argument is abductive

Answer 10

the simplest conclusion is drawn from the available evidence. This conclusion provides the best explanation for complexity in nature

Question 11

Why Paley’s argument is analogical

Answer 11

Paley uses the analogy of a watch to explain that the universe was designed

Question 12

Why Paley’s argument is an example of design qua purpose

Answer 12

the universe was seemingly made for a specific purpose

Question 13

Why Paley’s argument is an example of design qua regularity

Answer 13

(MINOR PART OF ARGUMENT)
some marks of design are in how the universe is set out/ordered (e.g. the way the solar system is set out shows order and regularity)

Question 14

Empiricism

Answer 14

the view that the most important knowledge comes from sense data

Question 15

David Hume

Answer 15

Scottish empiricist, scepticist and naturalist philosopher

Question 16

Hume’s criticisms of the design argument

Answer 16

• the analogy between ‘manmade artifacts’ and ‘natural objects’ cannot be reliably drawn
• even if we do draw the analogy, if we follow it strictly, we risk anthropomorphism
• there are other explanations for the appearance of design which do not require a designer (vegetable analogy, finite matter/infinite time)
• a designer would be even more complex, and even more in need of explanation, than the world itself

Question 17

Darwin’s theory of evolution in response to the design argument

Answer 17

Darwin’s theory of evolution defeats Paley’s argument because he believes that complexity comes through mutations and natural selection, and an intelligent designer is not required

Question 18

The fine-tuning argument

Answer 18

the conditions of the universe are precisely calibrated to allow for the existence of life

Question 19

The anthropic principle

Answer 19

[F.R. Tennant’s argument] the universe is structure in a way that is conductive to human existence and rationality

Question 20

The aesthetic argument

Answer 20

[Tennant] the aesthetic qualities of the universe (e.g. beauty, moral goodness) are not necessary for survival or evolution, yet they are abundant in the world

Question 21

Occam’s razor

Answer 21

if you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one