Teleological Argument

Sit on me Camille.

What does A posteriori mean?

Derived from sensory experience - therefore an empirical argument/

What does Inductive mean?

Based on probability, and not definitive proof. The conclusion is not necessarily true, the stronger the evidence, the more likely it is to be true.

What does Analogical Mean?

Based on a comparison between two different things

What does Natural Theology mean?

It makes no appeal to any form of special revelation, such as the bible or religious experience; It uses reason, the latest scientific knowledge and observation.

What are the three observations that Paley makes in his argument?

The complexity of the world; the purpose which things seem to show; the regularity of the world.

What does teleological mean?

The idea that something is working towards a final purpose.

What is the essence of Paley’s argument?

“If I stumbled on a stone and asked how it came to be there, it would be difficult to show that the answer - it has lain there forever - is absurd. Yet the same is not true if the stone were to be a watch”

Why does Paley suggest the watch in his analogy must be designed?

1. Observation would point to the watch’s complexity and to the exact suitability of its parts and of their arrangement to serve its purpose.

2. This could not have occurred by chance. A complete explanation requires reference to its purpose giver

3. An intelligent watchmaker, therefore, must have designed it

How does Paley, using the same logic suggest the Universe must have been designed?

1. The Universe is complex, it shows the same precise suitability of parts and arrangements to serve is purpose

2. This could not have occurred by chance - it must have been designed by a ‘universe-maker’

3. The Far Greater complexity, etc. of the world requires an infinitely greater designer

4. The Universe designer is God.

What other analogies does Paley suggest to support his argument?

• The eye is superbly adapted for vision

• The fins and gills of fish are perfect for living in water

• Birds’ bones, wings and feathers are perfect for flight

• There is regularity in the universe of planetary orbits and on earth in the seasons.

What criticisms could be made of the Teleological Argument?

• There is an inductive leap between the design of the eye (or others) and being designed by God - Fallacy of Composition.

• Inductive leap that the ‘intelligent universe-maker’ is the Christian God, not any other god.

How does Hume reject the mechanistic analogies?

• Mechanistic Analogies are deliberately chosen because they encourage the idea of a designer

• Living Organisms would be more inappropriate, e.g. a vegetable, which does not require explanation in terms of a designer.

How can Hume’s rejection of Mechanistic Analogies be countered?

Paley does provide a number of ‘naturalistic’ examples, all of which still support his idea.

How does Hume suggest the Universe could have been ordered without God?

• Hume suggests that given the constantly changing arrangement of its atoms over an infinite period of time, it was inevitable that order would eventually emerge.

• He also suggested that the possibility that the universe alternates between periods of chaos and periods of order, and by sheer chance, existence currently is in a state of order.

Why Does Hume say the analogy is Anthropomorphic?

• Humans have no knowledge of how universes are made

• This means we can know nothing about the capacities or nature of any universe designer

• The Analogy therefore is creating a universe designer in our image without any evidence for it

Why does Hume suggest that the designer is not necessarily the God of Christianity?

• A cause must be proportional to its effect

• The traditional Christian understanding of God is not required by what is known of the universe

• Intelligent minds are attached to physical bodies, so the designer could be mortal and long dead

• Teamwork is often behind design, so a number of deities of different skills, both male and female, could be responsible for the universe

In which book does Hume suggest these contradictions?

‘Dialogues concerning Natural Religion’

How might you argue against the idea that the designer is not the Christian God?

Occam’s razor posits that the simplest explanation is likely the most plausible, therefore, it is simpler to say the designer is an all powerful, eternal being than a team of lesser gods, or even a long-dead mortal.

Why does Paley argue the Universe could not have designed itself (i.e. the Multiverse theory)

Paley’s claim that ‘nature shows intention’ is supported by the anthropic principle. The Multiverse theory has no proof.

What is the Anthropic Principle?

The idea that the boundary conditions (cosmological constants) of the universe had to be precisely what they are in order for intelligent life to develop. We are not here by chance and a designer ‘fine-tuned these conditions.

What is the analogy that Richard Swinburne uses to suggest the Fine-tuning argument?

A man is kidnapped and is told that there are ten decks of cards in front of him, which are then shuffled and a card is drawn randomly from each of the decks. If any card drawn from the decks is the ace of hearts, the man will die. The man survives. The man thinks that it is miraculous he is still alive, whilst the kidnapper does not.