The Teleological argument

Question 1

Aquinas’s 5th Way

Answer 1

everything moves towads a purpose in nature
e.g arrow
unintelligent objects must have an intelligent god with purpose in mind to guide it
God directs these objects through natural law

Question 2

William Paley’s design argument

Answer 2

uses analogy of the complexity and purpose of a watch
humans must have a designer due to our complex design
e.g. human eye
humans must have a desugner because we are complex and preform purposes

Question 3

David Hume

Answer 3

criticises paleys use of analogy
cannot compare watch and universe as the cause may not be the same
e.g. fire and dry ice smoke
if there was a designer it could have been ‘committeee of Gods’
epicurean thesis - the world is an infinite composition of atoms so an orderly world was guaranteed

Question 4

F.R Tennant

Answer 4

Aesthetic principle and anthropic principle
we have traits that dont help us evolve and the earth is tailored specifically for humans to inhabit it

Question 5

Richard Swinburne

Answer 5

uniformity and unchangign nature of physics laws shows one designer
‘fine-tuning’
personal explanation - human minds impose temporal regulations liek choosing to sleep because we have been designed this way

Question 6

Dawkins

Answer 6

‘the blind watchmaker’ - we have a designer but it is blind as it is the mechanical forces of nature

Question 7

Darwin

Answer 7

‘cannot see evidence of design’ ‘too much misery’
natural selection rather than purposefully designed
survival instincts are goal-driven behavior without being designed to achieve a purpose

Question 8

Max Tegmark

Answer 8

multiverse theory
many universes exist some orderly and some not
every possible set of physical laws exists in the multiverse
links to humes epicurean thesis