Teleological argument Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is the Teleological argument
An inductive argument that attempts to prove the existence of God or an intelligent creator based on observations of the complex functionality and order in the natural world
describe William Paley’s ‘watchmaker’ example of the Teleological argument
1) Suppose you’re walking down a path and see a watch on the ground
2) You would assume that its parts had not come together by chance as it is too ordered and complex
3) Therefore someone must have designed it or it would not work
4) This watch is much like our universe
Describe Fred Hoyle’s ‘Junkyard Tornado’ allegory
1) A junkyard contains all of the parts of a Boeing 747, dismembered and in disarray
2)A whirlwind blows through, what is the chance it assembles the 747 perfectly? Impossible
3) This is an argument for modern intelligent design theory
What is the issue with Fred Hoyle’s Junkyard Tornado allegory?
1) Suppose the Tornado blew through for 4 billion years and every time it got a piece right they would stick
2) That is how evolution works, essentially through the Epicurean hypothesis
3) Evolution essentially debunks Intelligent design theory
Who came up with the Anthropic principle and what is it?
1) Fred Hoyle’s anthropic principle states that the universe perfectly fits in with the development of life
2) the universe is designed in a way that allows life to grow and develop
3) More importantly, it is designed to develop intelligent human life
How does Tennant differ and adapt the Teleological argument?
1) By stating that God chose to develop humans and earth through evolution
2) Takes way the biggest challenge to intelligent design theory - The incompatibility with evolution
What is the opposition of disutility in nature
1) Stating that the world is not perfectly designed for life
2) There are things that appear without use in the natural world or even appear to impede
3) Therefore the world cannot be perfectly crafted for life
What is an example of disutility in nature
1) The Laryngeal nerve of the Giraffe
2) The Laryngeal nerve of a giraffe takes a useless detour of about 15 feet
3) Comes from fish-like ancestors, but trapped on wrong side of heart which lead to abnormally long path
4) Evidence for evolution, a counter to intelligent design theory
What does Hume say about the watchmaker analogy
1) “Our world is more organic than mechanical so a better comparison would be to a carrot than a watch”
2) The analogy makes God more human than divine- comparison to a human designer limits him
what is Occam’s razor as a challenge to the teleological argument
Occam’s razor states:
You shouldn’t have an explanation with lots of elements if you can have an explanation with just one
