THE DESIGN ARGUMENT Flashcards
What is William Paley’s argument for the design theory?
Give a quote.
- analogy
- He used the analogy of a person asking where a rock had come from- you would simply answer- it was always there. But, if someone asked you where a watch had come from you would argue it was designed because of it’s intrinsic complexity
“Every manifestation of design which existed in the watch exists in the works of nature, with the difference, on the side of a nature… a degree which exceeds all computation.” - Like a watch, the universe is extremely complex, is ordered by laws, and is working towards an end, it has telos- a purpose of supporting life.
You can know that a watch is designed without knowing who designed it- therefore it doesn’t prove God exists but a designer. - Though the world has problems that doesn’t mean it wasn’t designed- just as although a watch may slow down or even break , that does not mean it has not been designed.
-Like an eye was made for vision- a telescope was made for assisting it.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of William Paley’s argument?
Strengths:
Easy to understand- the creator in simpler terms
Can be observed within the world and tested empirically
Weaknesses
Not a God of classical theism- and only shows it has a designer
Some could argue that you can’t use human objects to describe something outside the human capacity of knowledge
A watch and nature are not the same thing
The problem of evil- was it poorly designed.
evolution could be reason for complexity.
What is Thomas Aquinas argument for design?
Give a quote.
In summa theologica, his fifth way argued for design.
1) all natural bodies work towards the same goal- and this is not fortuitously (by chance)
2)Most natural things lack intelligence
3) just as an arrow is directed to it’s target by an archer, things that lack intelligence reach a goal because they have been directed by an intelligent designer
4)Therefore there is an intelligent being that exists by whom all natural things are directed towards their end.
“The fifth way comes from the governance of the world. We see things that lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end”
- it is an argument for qua regularity- as it is order as proof for God- which natural bodies which have no rational or mind could not do on their own.
-It is a argument from design- because it doesn’t explain why it was designed- just that it directs natural bodies towards a purpose.
What was some of the strengths and weaknesses of Aquinas’ theory?
Strengths:
Shows not just a designer- but an intelligent one- just as the archer would have to be
Kant argued that out of all of the design arguments it is the “oldest, clearest and most accordent with the common reason of mankind”
Weaknesses:
Is it logical to claim that all natural things act towards the same goal
How can he jump to the conclusion that it is God- he gives no evidence for this
He doesn’t show what this purpose is or give any evidence for it- he just claims that all things are directed towards a goal.
What did David Hume argue about the design argument?
Give three quotes:
Hume wrote a detailed teleological argument in his book “dialogues concerning natural religion”- using Philo, who represented his own views, arguing against cleanthes that he cannot use the design argument to prove the existence of God. He uses inductive reasoning- because the design argument is an assumption that can be proven wrong with empirical evidence.
- “You will not affirm that the universe bears such a resemblance to a house that we can, with the same certainty, infer a similar cause” He argues that a house bears no resemblance to the universe.
- “he cannot ascertain one single circumstance and is left afterwards to fix every point of his theology by upmost licence of fancy and hypothesis”- the argument doesn’t prove it is God- the theist fixes their evidence to support this- it is all hypothetical.
- “an infant deity who afterwards abandoned it, ashamed of his lame performance”- He said because of the problems in the world- evil etc, if there was designer he must have been imperfect.
What points does David Hume make in his book arguing against analogy?
1) For an analogy to work, the two things you are comparing must be very similar, a house and the universe are not
2) Just because they appear similar doesn’t mean they were made in the same way
3)The way our world works- natural selection- gives the appearance of design
4) the world cannot have been designed due to the presence of evil and suffering
5) the spider web analogy- just because there is design does not make it intelligent- a spider produces webs not from it’s brain but it’s abdomen. Spiders would have their gods spinning webs just as the human God cause reason and morality.
Houses are made by multiple people, so if we were to take this analogy seriously, we must consider the possibility of multiple gods.
Against Aquinas who argues from design qua regularity- order- the epicurean hypothesis- the world was originally chaotic but through natural selection was ordered.
What is the anthropic principle?
Design qua purpose- telos
The anthropic principle was developed by tennant and adapted by Swinburne.
The universe must have been designed due to it having a purpose of supporting and sustaining life- the fact that the world is tilted at 23 and a half degrees means that the equatorial regions don’t get too hot and the poles don’t get too cold. We have just the right amount of o2 to breathe but not too much that the world burns up. Our days are 24 hours due to the way the earth rotates.
- the world is perfectly suited for human beings to live in
- it is a modern adaptation of the design argument- co-operates with science rather than against it- e.g the big bang had to have just the right environment and the right strength to happen.
Give a quote by arthur brown supporting the anthropic principle.
“the ozone layer is mighty proof for the creator’s forethought, just the right thickness and exactly the right defence”
What three pieces of natural evidence does Tennant give to support the anthropic principle?
1) the world can be analysed rationally
2) the inorganic world provides the basic necessities for human life.
3) There are scientific laws that allow evolution to happen and human life to develop- it leads to the intelligence of human life.
What is swinburne’s argument for the anthropic principle?
How might Ockham’s razor support this?
“fine tuning” argument
The fact that over long periods of time, the world laws have co-ordinated in our favour, certain genetic mutations have occured that help human life shows there must be a designer
Science claims it is merely “brute fact”, and can explain the effects of the laws, but not why these laws are there, why they work in our favour
Ockham’s razor- the simplest answer is sometimes the best- which would not be that the world came about by chance, but that it’s purpose was created by an omnipotent God.
What is the argument of “intelligent”?
In order to explain the complexities of the world there must have been intelligent causes, therefore an intelligent designer.
1)Irreducible complexity- Whilst random mutation can account for the development of a new part, it cannot explain the concurrent development of a multitude of parts for a functioning system.
“a single system, composed on several well- matched interacting parts that contribute to it’s basic function, wherein the removal of any one of these parts would cause the system to effectively cease functioning”
2)specified complexity- specific complex patterns are within organisms- something must account for this- cannot have been developed by random processes.
3) anthropic principle- our world has the purpose of supporting and sustaining life. “fine tuning” allows life to exist- does not assume who this intelligence is- they are not biblical creationists- who start with the assumption that is is God, an intelligent design theorist observes the natural world and then comes to a conclusion. It could be a master race of extraterrestrial creatures.
What is the argument from irreducible complexity?
“A single system which is composed of several well matched interacting parts that contribute to it’s basic function , wherein the removal of any one of these parts would cause the system to effectively cease functioning”
Michael Behe- Darwin’s black box. - he uses the analogy of a mousetrap- 5 main component parts- if any of these parts were removed it would not function
Darwin admitted himself “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not have been possibly formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, then my theory would absolutely break down”
Behe argues that an irreducibly complex system could not have been formed by numerous, slight successive modifications of a precursor system- “because any precursor to an irreducibly complex system that is missing a part is by definition non functional”
It can still be formed through indirect evolution- for example a mousetrap without one of it’s parts can still act as a paperweight- however “As the complexity of an interacting system increases, the chances of an indirect route drops precipitously”
What example does Michael Behe give of an irreducibly complex system?
An e coli bacteria’s flagellar system- couldn’t have evolved directly because it is irreducibly complex- but couldn’t have evolved indirectly because it is so extremely complicated- although some of it’s parts exist in the microscopic world- others are independent- where did they come from?
What is the argument of evolution?
It is a scientific theory that explains where human beings came from- the world is 4 billion years old- started with bacteria- the strongest and best adapted survived and reproduced- eventually could live outside water.
- then monkeys and apes were the best adapted to their environment- hands and legs to stand on two feet.
- Galapagos Islands- Darwin discovered that on different islands there were different birds each adapted to their surroundings.
- survival of the individual is the most important thing.
Give a quote by Richard Dawkins about natural selection.
“natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process has no vision, no foresight, no sight at all”
“the blind watchmaker”
Criticises Paley through saying this.
