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Arguments based on observation (Hume's criticisms (can't look at…
Arguments based on observation
Aquinas' teleological argument (design argument
god gave us our reason so that we are able to learn about him
Aquinas gives his five ways in which we can use reason to conclude that God exists
the fifth of the five ways is a short teleological argument
he uses the example of an arrow heading for a target, if you see the arrow in flight you'd conclude it would've been shot on purpose as they can't move on their own
when we see planets moving in an orderly way, we can conclude that a divine mind must of put them in motion on purpose, planets can't move on their own
WATCHMAKER !!
Paley's teleological argument
in his book Natural Theology
analogy of someone finding a watch on a heath, shows that when we see things working in an orderly and purposeful manner, we know they must have been designed
we use order and purpose in the world, structure of animals and plants
can conclude that they must of been designed by god
from the care that god has put into creation, we can tell that god cares for us
Aquinas' cosmological argument
addresses the question of why the universe exists at all, concludes that it must be because of God
Aquinas's 5 ways: (only first 3 are relevant)
the unmoved mover - we observe motion and change in the world, must be a reason for it which is god
uncaused causer - we observe chains of cause and effect in the world, there must be a reason for it which is god
contingency - everything in the universe depends on something else for its existence
there must be something that doesn't depend on anything else otherwise nothing would've started - necessary being - god
Leibnez + principle of sufficient reason
argued there must be a sufficient reason or explanation for everything
universe requires a sufficient reason, the only sufficient reason to explain the existence of the universe is god
Anthropic principle
universe seems expertly fine-tuned to allow for human life
this fine tuning is a result of deliberate design, it happened by chance against enormous odds
Hume's criticisms
in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion he criticsises the telological and cosmological argument
the analogy between the world and a watch is weak - the world is not very obviously like a watch in its mechanisms
order in the world doesn't mean someone designed it, its an essential part of the worlds existence, which could of come about by chance
universe is unique so we can't know how universes are usually made or if ours is unusually orderly
the universe could be its own cause
can't look at the effects and confidently infer the cause
it might not be the god christians describe
might be a god who is stupid, arriving qt this design only after countless mistakes or copying someone else's ideas
might be a whole committee of gods, angels, even demons
TELEOLOGICAL criticisms
darwins theory of evolution through natural selection provides an alternative explanation for the characteristics of living things
chance is another possibility
might be considered a better fit than the god hypothesis
not everyone sees the world as orderly, beautiful, and purposive
some see it as chaotic, full of ugliness and pointlessness
as an a posteriori argument it can only lead to a probable conclusion and doesn't prove anything
A POSTERIORI argument criticisms
usually appealing as they use evidence which everyone cans see for themselves
don't always see the same things when we look at the world, so experiences are not the same, so don't appeal to everyone
they try to find the 'best fit' explanation, but can never be certain
can't prove, can only suggest strongly probable solutions
new evidence may come along which forces a need for a new explanation
need for constant review of a posteriori reasoning could be a strength, discourages arrogance and encourages questioning
COSMOLOGICAL argument criticisms
might be considered to have strength as we all share the experince that the universe exists.
god could be the best available explanation
big bang theory or chance could be possible other explanations, might be considered a better fit than the god hypothesis
not everyone thinks the universe requires any explanation/reason
as an a posteriori argument, it can only lead to a probable conclusion, doesn't prove anything