Teleological argument

Philosophers
1. Strengths
  1. Kant (1724-1804)
  2. Swinburne (1934)
  3. Hawkins (1942)
2. Aquinas (1225-1274)
3. Paley (1743-1803)
4. Tennent (1886-1957)
  1. Aesthetic argument - The beauty of the world is proof of intelligent design
    1. Used as a response to Darwin's explanation of design through chance
    2. Beauty exists in the world
      1. Beauty therefore requires a desinger
        This designer is God
    3. "Beauty is the lost thought of theology (David Fod)
5. Criticisms
  1. Hume (1711-1776)
  2. Mill (1806-1873)
  3. Darwin (1809-1873)
  4. Dawkins (1941)
Background
1. God of classical theism... Omni's
2. Comes from the Greek word "telos" meaning 'end' or 'purpose'
3. "The oldest, the clearest and most accordant with the common reason of mankind"
4. Complexity, regularity and evidence of purpose point towards a desinger
Key features
1. a posteriori
2. Based on empirical evidence
3. Inductive
4. An example of 'natural theology' (using reason and the world around us to establish the existence of God
Basic argument
1. Such design implies a designer
2. The designer of the world is God
3. The world has order, purpose, benefit, regularity and suitable for life
  1. This shows evidence of design
Thomas Aquinas
1. 5th of five ways
2. Analogy of the archer and the arrow
3. Based on Aristotles understanding of biological process
4. "whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence... this being God"
William paley
1. The watch analogy
2. The human eye
3. used reason to defend God (Christian apologist)
4. Order, complexity, regularity and interaction shown in the watch cannot come down to chance
F.R.Tennet/R.Swinburne
1. The world contains human beings
2. "Nature is meaningless and valueless without God behind it and man in front"
3. Used as a response to the theory of evolution by Darwin
4. The world was designed to support life
5. Such conditions cannot be rationally attributed to chance
6. These conditions must have been designed
7. the designer was God
General comments
1. General criticisms
  1. Inductive arguments can never establish proof; they can only establish probability
  2. The argument rests upon an inductive gap
  3. The existence of God is not an empirical hypothesis it is not provable
2. General Strengths
  1. The design argument, an inductive argument, follows strict philosophical logic (premise, premise, conclusion)
  2. The argument is cumulative - the more we inspect nature, the more we see evidence of complexity
  3. The argument, which is an example of natural theology based upon reason, compliments the claims made within revealed theology. (The book of Genesis)
3. Further strengths
  1. The argument compliments the notion of the God of classical theism
  2. Provides an answer to one of life's most searching existential questions, "why/how are we here?"
  3. Combines strength of scientific knowledge with explanatory theory

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Teleological argument

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