The Teleological argument Flashcards
Who created the teleological argument?
William Paley
What is the main goal of the teleological argument?
To argue for GODs existence through the idea of intelligent design
What is the meaning of intelligent design?
Intelligent design is the idea that certain things that exists, exists for a reason as it has a purpose which its cause must be from an intelligent being that designed it in that specific way to function with a purpose
What is the watchmaker analogy?
Paley invented this analogy for better understanding of intelligent design. The scenario is that we find a watch randomly on the ground, without knowing what it is, from this we would know that it has not just appeared out of nowhere. We would know that it must have been made by an intelligent being due to its complexity, this can then be applied to the world.
Who is one opponent of the teleological argument, and Why?
David Hume is one opponent of the Paley’s argument due to his use of analogies. Hume says that the analogy that Paley used is weak; this is because: 1) no one has witnessed the world being made, so we cannot infer the watch and world has similar causes. And 2) it could imply that the world has more than 1 designer (polytheism) as a watch is not always only made by 1 person.
