The exis of god - arguments based on observation Flashcards
Teleological
comes from the Greek ‘telos’ (end). Teleological arguments look at the end results (the world around
us) and use it to draw conclusions`
Teleological arguments are often divided into types by philosophers? (two)
1) Arguments based on purpose (e.g. William Paley’s ideas)
2 Arguments based on regularity (e.g. Thomas Aquinas’ ideas).
What type of argument is it teleogical and cosmological argument?
A Posteriori argument
Thomas aquinas
Set out fiveways (Aquinas summa Theologiae) in which he thought he could show god exists.
The fifth way is a form of…..
design argument
Quick summary of Aquinass fifth way? Aquinas concluded?
Aquinas concluded = Everything in the natural world that is not an intelligent being heads towards its goal or purpose becuase its directed by an intelligent being = God
“guiding hand”
Argument by regularity of succession - meaning?
Aquinas based his argument on the fact that nature follows specific laws that lead to specific results
Analogy of an arrow to support his Argument of regularity?
the reason the arrow reaches its target is that an archer directs it there.
The reason objects in our world perform their job efficiently is that they were designed that way – proves there is an intelligent designer behind everything in our world (God).
What did Richard Swinburne suggests about Thomas Aquinas argument?
Swinburne argues that Aquinas is mistaken as it assumes what is at issue - whether god imposes regularity and laws on the universe.
Although the existence of order may be good evidence of a designer, it is just as compatible with the non-existence of one
Although the existence of order may be good evidence of a designer, it is just as …..
compatible with the non-existence of one
What did Anthony flew suggest about Aquinas argument of regularity
Anthony Flew suggests that there is no purpose in nature. He suggests that the evidence does not support the view that everything in nature has a purpose.
William Paley
wrote Natural Theology, in which he stated that design requires a Designer
PALEY’S DESIGN ARGUMENT
There is order in the universe and there is something divine
behind this order and purpose. Complex objects work with regularity.
Paley’s watch analogy
analogy between the world and a watch, used to illustrate that because the watch has order it requires a watchmaker, the universe needs a universe maker.
Mechanistic World
Paley said that looking at a watch was similar to looking at the world, or at the human body, and noticing how it all works together – one can only infer that there must have been a divine intelligence ordering i
he worldview Paley subscribed to e.g. the body is a machine, the eye is a camera etc. If you reject this worldview his analogy of the watch is damaged
Why did many writers criticised the comparison Paley makes of nature with machines?
As they argued that the natural world is not mechanistic in the sense of a man-made machine
Why cant Hume directly criticise Paley’ watch argument?
William Paley published his book 24yrs after David’s Hume book was published. 27 yrs after Hume’s death
Why did Hume reject the use of analogy to prove the teleological argument?
The world is not like a machine at all since it is composed of vegetables and animals. it is more organic than it is mechanical.
How can Hume criticism of analogy be applied to Paley’s watch analogy?
We cannot assume that just because a human-made machine has a designer, the world needs a designer too.
This is illustrated by Hume scales Analogy - there is no way to know what is balancing the weight if one side is hidden from view.
What does DAWKIN claim that makes Paley’s observations the world not show God exists?
Dawkins claim that natural selection is a ‘blind’ process - there is no intentional purpose, just mutations that enable creatures to adapt to their environment.
Paley rejection of criticism that the design faulty meaning no god
Paley was concerned w signs of design within the universe rather than the quality of the design and the finised product. The point is that the fact that the watch exists shows it was designed for a purpose, and by analogy so was the universe
Where did Hume’s ideas leave the teleological argument?
David Hume criticised the teleological argument but did not suggest any other explanations for the apparent order in the universe
Richard Dawkins said he did not offer any alternative explanations for apparent design, but left the question open.
Analogy of the ship - David Hume
Hume questioned if there is one designer
used the analogy of a ship, which could be the result of several years of trial and error and could have been the result of many designers, not one min
John Stuart Mill questioned the goodness of…
nature given the apparent cruelty to be found within nature (behaviour of a digger wasp)
What is a major objection to any idea that the universe was designed according John Stuart Mill?
The amount of cruelty and evil
Richard Dawkins gave what example to illustrate the cruelty in the natural world?
A female Digger wasp not only lays her eggs in a caterpillar so that it can feed it on it but she carefully guides her stings into each ganglion of the prey’s central nervous system, to paralyse but not kill it
John Stuart mill considered that the amount of suffering in the world far ….
outweighed the goodness
How does natural selection is seen as a challenge to the teleological argument?
cos it can explain how paley’s example of regulariy and order in the world, like an eye can exist without needs a designer.
…….; advantageous characteristics would be passed down through the generations to aid survival.
Natural selection.
How does natural selection support Hume’s suggestion that there may be other explanations of apparent design n the universe than a designer
as it shows species survive more by chance than design
Bertrand Russell
Just because every human being has a mother does not mean that the human species as a whole has a mother.
Cosmological argument
attempts to show that from the existence of the universe it is possible to discover the cause of its existence
`FIRST WAY: FIRST MOVER
> Everything in the world is in a process of motion.
Everything in motion is changing from potential state to actual state
(inspired by Aristotle).
This state of motion is started and caused by something else.
There cannot be an infinite regress of movers – impossible.
The first mover is the Unmoved Mover, and that is God – God has
to be the unmoved mover because he can’t be perfect if he can change
SECOND WAY: FIRST CAUSER
> Things that exist are caused by other things..
Nothing can be its own efficient cause.
There can’t be an infinite regress of causes. There must be an Uncaused Causer, and that is God
THIRD WAY: CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY
> Everything in the world is contingent – relies on something else for its existence.
The existence of contingent beings would ultimately necessitate a being which must exist for all contingent beings to exist.
The pattern of contingency cannot go on forever – infinite regression is impossible.
There must be a necessary being that caused contingent beings – this necessary being is God.
G.W. Leibniz
Formulated the Principle of Sufficient Reason
‘in virtue of
which we hold that no fact could ever be true of or existent, nor statement
correct, unless there were a sufficient reason why it was thus and not other-wise’
Leibniz defined the principle of sufficient reason
A sufficient reason is to explain….
the universe’s existence would thus explain
how and why the universe exists
what is the only sufficient reason to explain the existence of the universe
must be God. Regardless of whether something is eternal or not, it still needs a reason for its existence
Dawkins Cosmological Argument
There is an infinite number of universes or an infinite series of Big Bang and Big Crunches so it is statistically likely that there would be a universe with the right laws to allow for the development of intelligent life.
Fallacy of Composition
Hume says that Aquinas has made a mistake in the way this argument was put together. Just because there is a common property to a group doesn’t mean that property must apply to the group. Just because every event in a series has a cause, doesn’t mean the series itself has a cause.
Criticisms of Ways 1 and 2
Hume
Hume questioned the idea that every event has a cause: it is not
possible to claim that every effect has a cause – it may just be
Criticisms of Way 3 Kant
Immanuel Kant rejected Aquinas’ third way for the same reason
that he rejected the concept of necessary existence with respect
to the ontological argument
Mackie questioned
the assumption that there is a necessary being
and that God should be the necessary being
CHALLENGING HUME:
4 points cosmological argument
1) It is reasonable to look for total explanations of all events – Leibniz and Copleston would argue this. There must be a sufficient reason for everything – a partial explanation is not a good explanation.
2) Modern science suggests that there is a definite beginning to the universe.
3) Just because we cannot fully understand God doesn’t mean that the
logic of the arguments should be dismissed.
4) The creation of the universe is a unique event, so why shouldn’t there be a special case to explain it? (God)
THE RUSSELL VS COPLESTON DEBATE
COPLESTON
COPLESTON
Things in the world are contingent and everything in the world depends on something for its existence. Therefore, something that exists outside the universe might have caused everything in the universe. This cause has to be a necessary being – God.
The Big Bang proves that something caused the universe.
THE RUSSELL VS COPLESTON DEBATE
RUSSELL
what did Copleston reply with
RUSSELL
Rejected the idea of a necessary being as something that cannot exist, and the regress of causal events does not lead to the existence of everything in the universe.
Just because everyone has a mother does not mean that the whole
human race has a mother – the concept of cause is not applicable to the total.
The universe is simply a brute fact, existence does not demand an explanation. The argument for a cause of the universe is meaningless.
Copleston replied that “if one refuses to sit at the chessboard and make a move, one cannot, of course, be checkmated.” If you are discussing something, it must have meaning.
