teleological argument

what is the teleological argument?

they are based on observing purpose in living things within the world
if things have a purpose, it suggests that a designer has designed the world with that purpose in mind

what is aquinas’ fifth way?

some things act according to a purpose (e.g. regularity of teeth)
unintelligent things can’t act for a purpose by themselves
they must be given this purpose by an intelligent agent
this is God

what is aquinas’ example of the fith way?

the arrow and the archer
if we see an arrow directed towards a target, we infer that there must be an archer that shot it
humans can give an inanimate object goal-directed behaviour

who supports the teleological argument?

paley’s watch analogy - “natural theology”

what is paley’s watch analogy?

we could know that a watch in a field was designed, as its complex parts work together for a purpose
features of the world are like a watch (human eye, wings of bird), therefore it also has a designer (this does not necessarily have to be a Christian God)

what are objections paley considers for his own watch analogy argument, and how does he resolve it?

if the watch was faulty, if we have never seen the watch being made
it is still clear the watch has a purpose even if it did not fulfil the design

what are four of hume’s criticisms of the teleological argument?

problem using analogies, problem of a flawed/human designer, problems using observation, epicurean hypothesis

what is the problem using analogies?

analogies are only reliable when the things compared are very similar (human blood circulatory system cannot be compared to sap flow in plants as they work very differently)
the teleological argument compares the universe to human-made objects
the universe is not very similar to these objects, so the comparison might lead to wrong conclusions
therefore, just because a watch has a watchmaker, it doesn’t automatically mean the universe has a designer (critique of fallacy of composition)

what is an example of hume’s problem using analogies?

houses and architect - just because houses have architects, doesn’t mean the universe does

what is the problem of a flawed/human designer?

the world contains suffering, natural disasters, disease
so if the universe was designed, it suggests an imperfect or human-like designer who made mistakes
it challenges the idea of the perfect God of religion.

what is a quote of hume’s problem of a flawed/human designer?

“the world… is very faulty and imperfect… and was only the first rude attempt of an infant deity who afterwards abandoned it”

what is an example of hume’s problem of a flawed/human designer?

the universe might be like a ship built by many tradesmen
a ship is designed by several imperfect workers, not one perfect designer
this suggests that even if the universe was designed, it could have many creators or flawed designers,

what is hume’s problem using observation?

criticises the use of an a posteriori argument
our observation of the world being ordered and complex is limited, as we only have experience of this one universe and we have never observed a universe being created
it means we cannot conclude that God designed it

what is an example of hume’s problem using observation?

a set of scales has one pan hidden - we can only guess the weight, not see it
when we observe the world, we can see order and complexity
but we cannot see God, making assumption without direct evidence

what is hume’s epicurean hypothesis?

infinite particles given infinite time will eventually form order
even though the world may appear designed, it was simply due to constant motion

what is paley’s criticism of the epicurean hypothesis?

you cannot throw all the parts of the watch into the air and expect them to fall into place​

how does evolution challenge the teleological argument?

if evolution is a random process, there is no overall purpose or planned design
the apparent design is a result of chance.​

who are three people who use evolution to challenge the teleological argument?

darwin, mill, dawkins

what is darwin’s argument for evolution?

published origin of species
evolution by natural selection - species evolve over time due to survival of the fittest
e.g. different finches had evolved specific beak shapes for their food source on different islands

what is mill’s argument for evolution?

the natural world is full of evidence of evil
if the designer reflects their creation, this would suggest the existence of a sadistic God
“nature impales men, breaks them…, casts them to be devoured” - on nature

what are two of dawkin’s arguments for evolution?

God’s utility function and scaffolding

what is dawkin’s theory of God’s utility function?

if there was a designer God, he would be evil as the universe seems designed to maximise suffering
e.g. digger wasps lay their eggs inside living prey that are then eaten alive by the larvae

what is dawkin’s theory of scaffolding?

disagrees with irreducible complexity
scaffolding theory says complex structures may have developed from earlier forms that had simpler functions, where intermediate parts may disappear or change
systems that look irreducibly complex may have evolved through small steps

what is irreducible complexity?

developed by michale behe - darwin’s black box
biological systems (eye) are so complex that they could not function if any part was removed, so systems could not have evolved step by step → designer God