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Paley's teleological argument (arguments based on observation),…
Paley's teleological argument
(arguments based on observation)
teleological argument
uses an old fashioned pocket watch to suggest that purpose must indicate design and a designer
The watch, with its cogs, levers and springs, has been carefully constructed by the watchmaker for the purpose of telling the time
compares the mechanical watch with observations of natural things that also seem mechanical and have a purpose
examples include the eye, with its purpose of sight; feet, wings and fins all have the purpose of movement; or the lacteal system in mammals, which provides enough milk for the number of offspring produced
conclusion of a conscious mind that intentionally designed purpose and, for Paley, this designer is God
include astronomy as he infers a designer due to the consistent order and pattern in the natural world
"When we come to inspect the watch, we perceive that it several parts are framed and act together for a purpose" (W. Paley, Natural Theology)
Paley argues that even though we don't see a watch get made we still assume it has a designer
successful in showing God exists
A designer would know what they wanted to create and why, giving their creation purpose
Since we can observe things that have purpose in the natural world, it suggests there was a designer behind it
Purpose can be observed in living beings. Paley responded to criticisms about apparent lack of purpose - even if we do not understand how or why all the parts of the watch work it would not detract from our conclusion of design
'Design qua regularity' can be observed through the order and predictable patterns seen in nature so he infers God as the designer behind this regularity
if broken, a watchmaker can be inferred
overall design, even though there are things in the world that do not work perfectly, there is still evidence of design so God.
arguments against
Hume
argues that there is a leap from observing purpose in the world to assuming that this purpose was intentionally designed by God.
Dawkins
claims that natural selection is a ‘blind’ process - there is no intentional purpose, just cumulative mutations that enable creatures to adapt to their environment.
Some natural things don't seem to have a purpose or arguably have poor design
In physics, the law of entropy states that there is a tendency towards disorder rather than order. This suggests there is no designing mind
too many faults in the world to suggest a God designed it, for example, earthquakes. Hume argues instead that perhaps the designer has left or is malevolent.
response to criticisms of the watch analogy
what if the watch was broken or unreliable in telling the time?
would be clear the watch had a purpose even if it did not fulfil that purpose perfectly the quality of the design was not important
can be used against the objection of natural disasters in the world which to some indicate poor design or no designer however, this may lead to further questions about the attributes of the designer
or whether it is possible to jump from observations of the world to a divine designer
agree with teleological