the teleological(arguments from observation) - Aquinas + paley Flashcards
how can we know God?
- revealed theology - we can know God because he reveals himself to us
- natural theology - we can now God through our use of reason and observation of the natural world
what is Aquinas’ teleological argument? (The fifth way)
premise 1: things in the world act in a way as to achieve the best result
premise 2: therefore, they act towards some kind of end
premise 3: to act towards some kind of end, intelligence is required
premise 4: some natural things act towards an end without possessing intelligence
premise 5: therefore, there must be an intelligent being which directs all natural things towards their end
conclusion: this being must be God
what type of argument is Aquinas’ teleological argument?
inductive argument (moves from a specific observation to a general conclusion)
what is Paley’s two design argument ?
- Design qua purpose (the universe was designed to fulfil a purpose)
- Design qua regularity (the universe behaves according to some order)
what is Paley’s analogy for design qua purpose?
just as how a watch is intricate and complex, there must be a watchmaker; similar to the world which is intricate and complex, there must be a world maker
what is Paley’s argument for design qua purpose?
premise 1: things which are complex and intricately detailed to achieve a purpose are designed
premise 2: the universe shows the same intricate detail and complexity in line with a purpose
premise 3: therefore, the universe must have a designer
conclusion: that designer is God
what is Paley’s argument for design qua regularity?
premise 1: the universe shows order and regularity through following physical laws
premise 2: this order and regularity could not have happened by chance
premise 3: therefore, there must be an intelligent designer who caused this order
conclusion: this must be God
what is a weakness of Aquinas’ argument?
EVOLUTION:
- things move to an end naturally through random mutations that help them for survival
what is an overcoming of the weakness of evolution for against Aquinas’ argument?
TENNANT:ARGUMENT FROM BEAUTY
- the world’s beauty and our capacity to appreciate cannot be explained by evolution
- it could easily not be the case
- therefore, it must have been designed to be so
- so, God must exist
what is a weakness of Paley’s argument?
RICHARD DAWKINS:
- the order in the world is due to natural selection alone; “a blind, unconscious, automatic process
- design flaws
how does paley overcome richard dawkins’ weakness?
- even a badly designed watch has a designer
- just because there are design flaws we can observe in the universe, doesn’t mean there is no designer at all
