Design Argument Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is the Teleological Argument?
Tries to prove existence of God based on perceived evidence of deliberate design in the natural and physical world
A Posteriori?
Arugments which depend on sense experience - eg oak trees grow from acorns can only be known by sense experience and not by logic
Inductive?
Arguments which the conclusion is likely based on the premises but not garunteed
Premises:
The sun has risen in the east every morning recorded in human history.
There are no known exceptions to this pattern.
The Earth’s rotation explains this regular occurrence.
Premise?
A proposition that supports or helps to support a conclusion
What would Paley’s design argument come under? (two of them)
A Posteriori - based on sense
Inductive
What are the 3 observations of the world Paley bases his argument on?
- It’s Complexity - such as the eye
- It’s regularity - such as the seasons of the year
- It’s purpose - complexity of a watch implies it has a purpose even if we don’t know what the purpose is - our observation of the complexity and regularity of the world therefore implies the world also has a purpose
Paley developed his argument under basis of these observations
What is Paley’s inductive Design Arugment?
Can be summarised:
Some objects In the world show clear evidence that they were designed because of their complexity and regularity, form which we can infer they were made with a purpose
so its likely the universe was designed (God)
What is wrong about Paley’s watch argument?
Paley argued that if you found a watch on the ground, you’d naturally infer it had a designer — because it’s complex, purposeful, and clearly made for a function.
Then he said:
Just like a watch implies a watchmaker, the natural world — with its complexity and purpose — implies a divine designer (i.e., God).
Critics (especially David Hume before Paley) argued that nature isn’t enough like a watch to make the comparison work. A watch is obviously man-made; living things develop, grow, and adapt — not really like gears and springs.
If complexity requires a designer, then God (being the most complex entity imaginable) would also need a designer. That leads to an infinite regress — which the argument doesn’t address.
Summarise Paley’s watch argument
Paleys watch analogy can be summarized as follows:
1. A watch is a machine designed for the purpose of telling the time
2. The design of the watch suggests an intelligent designer
3. The natural world shows features of design
Therefore, the universe must have an intelligent designer
List some of Paley’s examples
The human eye is adapted for vision - it has all the right parts to achieve its purpose
Fish have funs and gills and are adapted to living in water
Paley believes these were intentional design of God
What are Hume’s criticisms of Paley’s argument?
(Hume died 26 years before Paley stated his argument)
- Even if the universe was designed, this doesn’t mean this was the Christian God - Even if the universe was designed, that doesn’t point specifically to the Christian God. Many belief systems propose different creators, and design alone doesn’t prove Christian doctrines.
- The existence of Evil in world suggests a limited designer - (god is omnipotent, omnibenovelent - evil exists) - Why is there unnecessary suffering, natural disasters, disease, and injustice? The presence of suffering suggests the designer might be limited in power, goodness, or cannot be God
- Analogies between the way the universe works and the way machines work doesn’t correlate - Machines are man-made and understood within human contexts, while the universe is vastly more complex and operates under natural laws that don’t require a designer in the same way. The analogy risks oversimplifying the nature of the universe by comparing it to human-made objects.
What are strengths of Paley’s design argument?
- Paley argued evil may be unavoidable in oder for God to being about good.- free will defencce or Hick’s “soul making” argument
- Paley comes to conclusion that the designer is metaphysical and transcendent (above space time universe) - designer must be metaphysical because it would be impossible to design a system from the inside
- Paley’s argument is inductive and simple - arumgne tis based on what we observe, which is appearance of design - Richard Swinbourne argues “simplicity is always evidence for truth”
