Similarly, William Paley, strongly believed that the observation of the intricate complexity of the universe concludes that there must be a creator. Paley believed that this creator was God. In ‘Natural Theology’, he used the analogy of the watch to his ideas. He explained that if you came across an intricately designed watch, you could conclude that watch was not made by chance and was designed with purpose and placed there. For Paley, the different parts of watch work perfectly together to fulfil a purpose.
Aquinas considered that by using our reason to reflect on our human nature we could discover our specific end purpose. Aquinas used the ideas of Aristotle and the Stoics as an underpinning for Natural Law saying- human beings have an essential rational nature given by God in order for us to live and flourish. Aristotle said even without knowledge of god, reason can discover the laws that lead to human flourishing. The Stoics said Natural Laws are universal and unchangeable and should be used to judge of particular societies. We use this is help us choose the right moral action is situations.
Explain Paley’s Teleological Argument (AO1 25marks) Firstly, Telos is the Greek word for end or result of some course of action. Therefore, The Teleological Argument looks to demonstrate the existence of God by looking at the universe and trying to demonstrate that is has been designed for some reason or purpose. Evidence of design within the universe leads to the question, if the universe has been designed, who or what designed it? Furthermore, The Teleological Argument aims to demonstrate that the designer of the universe is God. The Teleological Argument is also an example of an a posteriori argument which means that it’s a synthetic argument that reaches conclusions based on evidence observed.
Paley argues that there is evidence of design in the universe around us; he says that almost everything appears to have been designed to match a specific function, for example the eye. The eye has so many functions working to keep the eye on its main course of function, to see, something so complex as the eye must have a designer. Paley also believed that there was evidence of a creator throughout the universe. Paley used Isaac Newton’s law of motion and gravity to back up his theory of design qua regularity. He believed that the relationship between gravity and the planets couldn’t have just
In David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, the author employs three fictional characters to discuss God's existence. Of these three characters, I will be discussing a conversation between Cleanthes, who argues God can be known through rational thought, and Philo, a philosophic skeptic. The main point I intend to discuss is the argument from design. The basic premise of this argument is that an intelligent designer made the Earth. When one observes the world and nature, it seems that everything has an intricate relationship and interconnectedness with everything else.
Explain the main challenges of the teleological argument for the existence of God The word ‘telos’ derives from the Greek meaning end, goal or purpose. The teleological argument is the argument that the world was designed by a designer and this designer is God. Throughout history there have been many points to support the teleological argument however there have also been many that challenge it. In “dialogues concerning natural religion” David Hume offers three key criticisms of the teleological argument. His first point was that the universe is bound to look designed because it has to be this way for us to be here to observe it, any solar system or planet which provided the conditions for conscious life to exist will seem to have been designed for our purposes.
The design argument outlines that the world has been designed, and therefore requires a designer. This designer, has to have been God because he is the only being that has the power and will to do so. This argument is a posteriori because it bases it’s argument on observations within the Universe. It is also an inductive proof because it has more than one possible conclusion. There are a few ideas that support the idea of the world being designed, one of them being Aquinas’s Fifth Way.
The most famous one was written by William Paley (1743-1805). He claimed that the complexity and efficiency of natural objects such as the eye, which is very complex and has a very important function, is evidence that God must have designed it. Paley says that just by looking at a watch we already know, subconsciously, that a watchmaker designed it. So when looking at the eye, why cannot we agree a maker designed it? This argument relies on the idea that a deigned object, a watch in our case, is very similar to the eye, which is a natural object.
Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the design argument for the existence of God The design argument is also known as the teleological argument, which comes from the Greek ‘Telos’, meaning end or purpose. It is a posteriori, so is made after something had been experienced. In this case it’s the experience of the universe and its apparent design, and it argues that if the universe has a specific design then it therefore must have a designer. There are many philosophers, both proponents who are for the argument and critics who are against it, and so there are strengths and weaknesses of the argument. Empirical evidence is a strength of the teleological argument.
Existence is a part of perfection. While the ontological argument can be approached without the use of consciousness or awareness, cosmological and teleological arguments require a closer focus on the cause and the design of the universe. In earlier years Plato, then Aristotle stressed the cosmological argument as cause and motion, whereas Thomas Aquinas’ concept focused on life having a cause or a starting point. According to his premise the universe is a series of causes and the first cause would be what everyone understands to be God. This concept leads to other debates that mock the well-known adage “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg”.