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THE DESIGN ARGUEMENT FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD - TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT -…
THE DESIGN ARGUEMENT FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD - TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
Does the world show evidence of design?
This is where we make empirical observations - using our sense to find things out + gain understanding/knowledge
Human Eye
When we look at the human eye's complexity, and the fact that all the different parts of the eye work so well together for a certain purpose, do we see in the human eye evidence of design?
Or when we look at creatures - they are so well designed for environment + survival
Paley - Fish
Fish+ their gills are so well designed for surviving in water is evidence of design
Seasons
We go through spring/summer/autumn/winter in which all of nature works so harmoniously as it goes through the annual cycle of seasons
Sky
Sunset/stars/landscapes - Paley says surely that is evidence of design - all of this beauty/complexity/intricacy couldn't have come about by chance, it must've been designed
Aquinas - 5th Way of Proving God's Existence - 'Arrow + Archer' Analogy - not on spec but good to know
A posteriori argument
Aquinas argues that the intricate complexity + order in the universe can only be explained through the existence of a Great Designer
Arrows cannot reach the target on their own
In the same way the archer guides the arrow to where it is meant to go, God guides the natural bodies to where they are meant to go
Paley - Complexity, Regularity, Purpose
His teleological argument is based on observation (empiricism)
It is a posteriori (post-experience)
It is inductive (probable) + makes inferences
Complexity
Paley observes the complexity of the natural world, including the things within it
He looks at the complexity of biological organisms + organs, such as the eye
He also looks at the complexity of the laws of nature by which everything is goverened
Regularity
Paley observes in particular the regularity of the orbits of comets, moons + planets regularity of the seasons of the year
There is an annual cycle of precision
Purpose
Paley observes the machines that we make + infers they are built for a purpose; their complexity + regularity implies they have a purpose (they serve a particular function)
Our observation of the complexity + regularity of the world therefore implies the world also has a purpose
On the basis of his 3 observations, Paley forms his argument
Some objects in the world shoe clear evidence that they were designed because they exhibit complexity + regualrity, from which we can infer that they were made for a purpose
The universe appears to exhibit complexity + regularity, from which we can infer that it was made for a purpose
So, he concludes that it is likely that the universe was designed
Paley essentially argues inductively from what we can see in the world (appearance of design) back to the supposed cause (God)
William Paley - Book - Natural Theology
Gone for a walk, and come across a stone
You are not going to stop and ask the question of how that stone came to be there?
You are just going to assume that it has always been there - you are not going to question how the stone got here because it is natural + we just know it is there
However in regards to a watch being in the same situations whereby you walk past a watch - you would not give the same answer
At some point in time, there must've existed a designer who formed the watch for the purpose
There must've been a designer that has planned the watch and produced it for a purpose
Paley is transferring his inference about the organisation and design of watches to the organisation and design of nature