The teleological argument offers a way we can explain God’s existence in terms of design and nature. It explains that the world is too complex and diverse for there not to be a designer, such as God, at work. This argument derives from Thomas Aquinas’ work from his Summa Theologiae. His fifth way suggests that inanimate objects cannot have ordered themselves since they lack intelligence. For example, planets could not have put themselves into orbit, yet they are in perfect order and placement so therefore there must be a designer, an intelligent being, that did so.
Explain Paley’s design argument. (25 marks) William Paley (July 1743 – 25 May 1805) was an English Christian apologist, philosopher and utilitarian. He is best known for his account of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy. Paley used the watchmaker analogy in his book Natural Theology in 1802. In it, he wrote that if a pocket watch is found on the ground, it seems logical to assume that someone dropped it and that it was made by one or more watchmakers, and not by natural forces.
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.
Aquinas then goes on to give examples about how an arrow reaches a target but its directed by an archer(the intelligence) , which makes the arrow reach it goal, though it lacks intelligence. To sum up Aquinas’s argument some intelligent being exists by all natural things that are directed to an end; that being is God. In my opinion I disagree with Aquinas on the argument from design. Thomas mixes the laws of nature with prescribed laws made of intelligent beings. The laws of nature have been discovered , an accepted law is imposed.
‘We see examples of design throughout the natural world and conclude that an intelligent designer is clearly demonstrated.’- Assess whether this argument succeeds. Because of the complex nature of the world and the ability of things to fill such a specific purpose, we can conclude that this cannot be merely coincidence. We can infer that an intelligent designer such as God has created the universes and everything in them because of this. I will seek to prove that this argument does not succeed and that there are in fact alternative explanations for what a theist would see as ‘intelligent design’. The design argument was formulated by Paley.
As we see in this segment of Document 6 “Reason is in the estimation of the philosopher what grace is to the Christian. Grace determines the Christian's action; reason the philosopher's.” the philosophers of the Enlightenment strove to explain everything by means of logic and reason which was a mindset that was pioneered during the Scientific Revolution. Essentially, Enlightenment thinkers took the rational mindset from scientific discoveries of the Scientific Revolution and began to apply it to society. Isaac Newton's discoveries established the principles of the Enlightenment. At the time, discovery was looked at with skepticism as people had become accustomed to the bible being the only source of information about the world.
Doherty took Wheatley's example and chose to use the term 'ceremonial centre' in his discussion of urbanism in relation to Ireland's 'monastic towns.' The topic of 'monastic towns' will not be discussed in this dissertation, but it is important here to note that for Wheatley a territory's 'consecration signified its "reality" and, therefore, sanctioned its habitation; but its establishment as an imitation of a celestial archetype required its delimitation and orientation as a sacred territory within the continuum of profane space.' This chapter considers how early Insular ecclesiastics used biblical accounts, and early religious writings, to shape their ideals of the ecclesiastical ciuitas. These ideals stretch beyond the writings of Jewish and Christian writers to a celestial building plan, which was understood and sought after by ecclesiastics. To better understand this celestial building plan, this chapter will focus on: the Celestial Ciuitas and its topography, representations of the Celestial Jerusalem, Insular understanding of the topography of the Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament, similarities between the Celestial Jerusalem and Hell as 'cities,' the Irish ciuitas of
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.
Therefore, man is obligated to repent and put his faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and bear good fruit or face the righteous judgement of God. In Romans 1:20, Paul reveals that the natural world testifies to a supernatural cause. According to the scientific evidence, nature itself had a beginning. As Dr. Frank Turek points out, the supernatural cause that created nature must be spaceless (Because it created space), timeless (Because it created time), immaterial (Because it created matter), powerful (Because it created out of nothing), intelligent (Because the creation event and the universe was precisely designed), and personal (Because it made a choice to convert a state of nothing into something; impersonal forces don’t make choices). This evidence is consistent with Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Paul eluded to this when he said that God’s invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature is clearly seen, being understood by what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Rom.1:20).
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”.