hume's design arg. from analogy

what kind of arg is it

inductive - meaning that 2 things are similar in relevant ways, so we can conclude that they are similar in another way

main aim

to argue that God exists as the designer of the world

what does hume mean by ends

purposes

what does hume mean by spatial order

patterns of order within something that allow a function to be performed

what is his arg. in standard form

• humans bodies have certain teleological properties - parts that work together with accuracy to some ends

• the natural world also has these same teleological properties

• machines made by humans also have these teleological properties as they have been made by a being with the mental properties of though, wisdom, intelligence and design

• similar effects have similar causes

• therefore the cause of nature is a being with the mental properties of intelligence, wisdom and design

why can this arg. be considered ‘a posteriori’

it. is based on observations about the world

what is an extension of humes arg.

• the world is much more complicated than machines made by humans

• this greater complexity requires greater intelligence

• therefore an intelligent designer exists which has much more intelligence than humans

• the designer must be God

name the objections to humes teleological arg

• objections to the analogy

• is designer isnt the best hypothesis

• arguing from a unique case

explain the objection to the analogy

we can object that the analogy fails as it isnt strong due to:

• dissimilarities between the world and machines

• also machines can be made in many ways - not all requiring thought, wisdom and intelligence so must the designer be intelligent

explain the objection that an intelligent designer isnt the best hypothesis

• there could be many other different reasons as to why nature is the way that it is

• the teleological argument doesnt explicitly show that there is a designer

arg from unique case

see separate flashcard set