The Teleological Argument EXAM

Question 1

Aquinas’ Qua Regularity Teleological Argument (x4)

Answer 1

Inductive, backwards looking argument

‘We see things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, […] Hence it is plain that they achieve this, not fortuitously, but designedly. ‘ - Aquinas, Summa Theologica

A-posteriori observation of cyclical/ reliable events e.g. seasons + planets

Analogy of the Arrow

Question 2

Aquinas Summa Theologica Quote

Answer 2

‘We see things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, […] Hence it is plain that they achieve this, not fortuitously, but designedly. ‘ - Aquinas, Summa Theologica

Question 3

Paley’s Qua Purpose Teleological Argument (x3)

Answer 3

Analogy of the Watch

Human Eye is designed for vision

Several complex parts (+4 other evidences of design). Complexity suggests that it has been deliberately designed to fulfil a certain purpose

Question 4

Support for Teleological Argument (x2)

Answer 4

Paul Davies’ ‘Goldilocks Enigma; puts that the universe is ‘just right; for life, as the conditions are so perfect. Many would argue that these conditions could NOT have occurred by CHANCE

Frederick R Tennant’s ‘Aesthetic Principle’ puts that, as humans enjoy out art and music, there must be a God. Indeed, these qualities do not appear to aid survival, so cannot be explained by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Question 5

Criticisms of the Teleological Argument (x4)

Answer 5

Brandon Carter’s ‘ Weak Anthropic Principle’ put that humans would only ever know a life-supporting universe, resolving the Goldilock’s Enigma

Darwin’s evolution explains as to everything is so perfect for our survival (WE changed to fit it)

Hume argued that it was wrong to compare a watch to the universe, as the universe is so much more complex. Is the world any more like a watch than it is like a cabbage or a giant slug or a dandelion?

Complexity is subjective, and says more about the claimant than the universe. THE LOGICAL FALLACY OF FANTASY PROJECTION as someone demands that others must accept their subjective experience as objective reality.

Question 6

Alternative to the Teleological Argument (x4)

Answer 6

An EVIL GOD as JS Mill thought that nature was cruel, as ‘All the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing […] are nature’s every-day performances’ and Darwin stated that ‘I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the parasitic wasp’

Hume argued that it could be MULTIPLE OR UNCONSCIOUS GOD. Furthermore, design does not mean conscious or intelligence, such as a spider’s web

The Epicurean Hypothesis puts that the beginning of the universe was indeed chaotic, but over time natural forces ordered it. NATURAL EQUILIBRIUM ACHIEVED

Question 7

Roger Penrose quote supporting Brandon Carter’s Weak Anthropic Principle

Answer 7

“If they were not just right, then we should not have found ourselves to be here now, but somewhere else”

• The Emperor’s New Mind

Question 8

JS Mill Quote

Answer 8

‘All the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing […] are nature’s every-day performances’ - JS Mill

Question 9

Darwin Quote

Answer 9

‘I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the parasitic wasp’ - Darwin