Philosophy- Teleological Argument Flashcards
(18 cards)
Summary
-uses apparent design in natural world as evidence for existence of God
-suggests order, regularity and intricacy in design of world indicate it was created by someone with particular purpose: God
empirical basis
-evidence drawn from 5 senses
analogical reasoning
-argument draws analogy between human objects designed by someone (e.g watch) and the world, suggesting we just both have a designer
inductive reasoning
-form or conclusion based on previous experience
-based on premises which do not necessarily prove the conclusion
-one can accept the premises as true without having to agree with conclusion
-infer conclusion from experience
posteriori logic
- reasoning based on experience of the empirical world
inductive premises teleological argument
premise 1: man made things in world have been created by designer with particular purpose in kind (e.g watchmaker)
premise 2: world looks like been designed for particular purpose as so complex, intricate
conclusion: world must have a designer, must be God therefore exists
Aquinas fifth way argument
-everything, inanimate, natural objects in world seem to work towards particular purpose or end
-because these object lack intelligence, cannot achieve this ‘best result’ by themselves, must be guided to it by intelligent being
-just as ‘arrow is directed by the archer’
-something that lacks intelligence cannot act with intelligence, soemthing else intelligent controlling it, God
Hume criticisms
- Similar effects do not mean they had similar cause: just because watch and world appear similarly intricately designed, does not mean world must have designer too
- Weak analogy based on guessing about similar causes, world natural, watch man made, very different, cannot compare
- Design of world does not necessarily point to designer, coukd be due to any other factor such as ‘unknown cause’ rather than ‘great universal mind’
- Design argument commits anthropomorphism, gives God human like qualities as he is like designer of a watch, however the God of Classical Theism is not human
William Paley functional complexity
-natural and human objects have particular property that suggests design
-things complex for a reason
Paley argument
-both natural and human objects have functional complexity that suggests design
-best explanation
-even though natural and human objects different, both show complexity and intricacy that suggests intelligent designer
-if found stone in ground, reasonable to say it has always been there (no functional complexity)
-if found watch, assume not always there, intricately designed to achieve purpose of telling time implies designer (functional complexity)
-world too intricately designed to be there by chance, must have designer
Paleys response Humes critisicms
-not possible to know whether God has any of the divine attributes such as omnipotence, but we can know he exists as the designer of the world
-did not suggest that design in world perfect, so cannot be inferred that designer is perfect, agrees Hume that similar effects do not mean similar causes
-avoidance of making analogy (instead called it functional complexity) helped avoid charge of anthropomorphism
-designer is the best explanation, not drawing analogy between world and watch but says both possess property of functional complexity best explained by designer
Cumulative Argument
-Richard Swinburne
-given evidence and extent of order and purpose in world makes it more probable that Gid exists than that he does not exist
-recognises features of world coukd be explained by science but suggests existence of God better explanation
-outlines 7 features which contribute to probability one of them being order in the universe which is a feature of the teleological argument
Swinburne Regularities of co-presence
-tendency for things to turn up together in an orderly pattern eg. parts of a watch
-Swinburne argues teleological argument failed in past as looked for explanation for these regularities of co presence, however these regularities can fail at times and look disordered so the whole argument will look wrong
Swinburne regularities of succession
-regularities of objects due to external influence of laws of nature
-orderly processes operate same every time, never experience disorder e.g solar system
-swinburne argues argument should be based on tbis as science cannot explain the existence of these laws, an explainations is needed from designer
Aesthetic argument
-FR Tennant
-huge amount of beauty in the world not for a necessary cause
-beauty in nature is ‚biologically superfluous’
-it’s existence is better explained by a designer who took pride and exercised craftsmanship in creating the world, just as a carpenters may add an extra detail to a chair, won’t make it more useful
-problem of evil shows world bad design, ugliness in world
Problem of evil and suffering
-JS Mill
-existence of evil and suffering show the world badly designed
-a benevolent and omnipotent God would create world without suffering
-the world is full of injustices, no evidence of divine justice
-there may be a deistic God, but not of classical theism
Anthropic argument
-everything about the universe appears to be compatible with existence of human beings
-if the universe was designed differently, existence of human beings would be incompatible with environment
-problems: evolution, science
Darwin evolution
-Darwin developed scientific theory of evolution by natural selection
-over time animals possessing traits advantageous to their survival will become more successful and pass advantageous traits on to their offspring
-over time organisms will change and become better adapted to their environments
-challenges the design argument as explains why the world appears to be designed and particularly well suited to individuals
-not God, nature has forced animals to change over time
