Hume's Criticisms of the Teleological Argument

Question 1

What is Hume’s criticism of using analogy?

Answer 1

Hume said that using analogies is a weak method of reasoning. We cannot leap to conclusions about the cause of something just because the effects are very similar. Just because we have experienced a watch being made, it does not mean the universe was made in the same way. The universe is not a machine, and it actually more like a living organism which is growing and changing

Question 2

What is Hume’s criticisms of ‘What Kind of Designer’?

Answer 2

It could be a baby god who messed up and left, it could have been a team of Gods (which is more likely because a team of people build a ship) and there is no evidence for the unity of deity, or it could have been a cruel and malevolent god: not the God of classical theism

Question 3

What is Hume’s idea of the Epicurean Hypothesis?

Answer 3

An Ancient Greek idea that with infinite time and an infinite number of possible combinations, the universe would have come into existence at some point, therefore it just occurred by chance

Question 4

What is a criticism of Hume’s ‘What Kind of Designer’ Argument?

Answer 4

Paley is not looking at the quality of design, only that there IS evidence of some design e.g. a broken watch

Question 5

What is a criticism of Hume’s ‘Problems of Using Analogy’?

Answer 5

Just because we have never seen a watch being made, it does not mean we do not infer a designer

Question 6

What is a criticism of Hume’s ‘Epicurean Hypothesis’?

Answer 6

Swinburne said that it is more likely the universe was designed than it occurred by chance. “Order is extraordinary and needs an explanation”.