Teleological argument

Design argument for the existence of God
1. Telos- end/purpose
2. Aquinas
  1. Aquinas' fifth way
    1. Unintelligent being needs an intelligent being to guide it towards its end purpose
      1. God is the intelligent being
  2. Example- the arrow being shot towards the target by the archer
3. William Paley
  1. Two types of design arguments:
    1. Design qua regularity
      1. Gravity
      2. Rotation of planets
    2. Design qua purpose
      1. Lacteal system in mammals- feed the amount of young
      2. The eye- to see
      3. Birds wings- to fly
  2. Analogy of the watch
    1. Watch has a purpose
      1. To tell the time
        Must have a designer
        Watchmaker
        The universe has a purpose
        Therefore must have an intelligent designer
Modern arguments
1. Arthur Brown
  1. Ozone layer is perfectly made for life
    1. i.e. keeps gases in
      1. It has a purpose
2. F.R Tennant
  1. Anthropic principle
    1. Order in nature suggests design not chance
      1. Made for man to flourish
        If it was any different we would not be here
      2. More likely to be a designer than chance
  2. Aesthetic principle
    1. Beauty etc, not needed for survival
      1. Must have been added in by a nice designer
3. Swinburne
  1. Probabilities
    1. More probable that the universe was designed than it occurred by random chance
      1. God is the simplest explanation
        Oculus razor
        The simplest explanation is probably correct
    2. Example of the mad man and the card machine
      1. Card machines with a revolvers attatched
        Mad man says that if the card machine produces anything but an ace, you will get shot
        He turns on the machines, they all draw aces
        You do not get shot
        You must however question how this is possible for all of the machines to produce the right cards
        Just like you must question the universe and how everything is so perfect
        It needs an explanation
Counter arguments
1. Mill
  1. If there was no suffering there would be a good designer
    1. God isn't good if he created a world of suffering
      1. No design qua regularity as there is no order in nature
    2. Natural disasters
      1. Manmade disasters are overmatched by natural disasters
        "Nearly all the things which men are hanged or imprisoned for doing to one another are nature's everyday performances"
        Men are hanged for less than nature's everyday destruction
        "Nature, red in tooth and claw"- Alfred Tennyson
        "Anarchy and the reign of terror are overmatched in injustice, ruin, and death by a hurricane and a pestilence"
    3. Killer animals and insects
      1. "pass their existence in tormenting and devouring other animals"
        Digger wasp
        Whales
        Don't eat whole whale
        Cats
        Play before eating
        Cruel and pointless
2. Hume
  1. What kind of designer can we infer?
    1. No evidence of just one god
      1. Work of several lesser Gods?
    2. Anthropomorphic God?
      1. Human like
    3. Imperfections and suffering in the world
      1. Cruel, impotent or non-moral God
        "First rude attempt of an infant deity, then abandoned"
  2. Problems with using analogy
    1. They are weak methods of reasoning
      1. Can only go so far
      2. Similar effects don't necessarily imply similar causes
        Choose the analogy, you choose the conclusion
      3. Watch analogy doesn't relate to the universe
        Universe is not mechanic
        It is organic, growing and changing
        More like a vegetable
  3. Alternative theory
    1. Epicurean hypothesis
      1. Could have occurred by chance
        Marbles example
        Throw marbles until a pattern forms randomly
        If not present during the throwing
        Would presume it was designed not random
        Can't know if the universe was designed or occurred by chance because we were not present
3. Darwinism
  1. Natural selection
    1. Evolving and adapting for purpose
      1. Beneficial mutations
        Pass on to offspring
        Galapagos finches
        Moths in the industrial revolution
        Dawkins
        Blind watch maker
        No purpose in mind when evolving
        No vision or foresight
        A watchmaker in nature would be a blind watchmaker
        Natural selection is a unconscious and blind process
Supporting arguments
1. Hoyle
  1. The probability of life on earth
    1. "No greater than the chance that a hurricane would blow through a scrapyard and produce a Boeing 747"
2. Paley's responses
  1. Broken watch: something doesn't have to work correctly to infer a design or designer
  2. We didn't see the universe made: just because we haven't seen it doesn't mean it was not designed
  3. Somethings dont have a purpose: even if we don't understand the purpose doesn't mean there is no purpose, there still is one
  4. Might have occured by chance: unlikely universe would have occurred by chance due to all the purpose in it
3. Morowitz
  1. The chance of a protein molecule occurring by chance is 1/10 x 236

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Teleological argument

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	Created by ELeanor Turner over 8 years ago

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