The Teleological
Argument (Design
Argument)
What is the teleological argument?
The teleological argument is a philosophical argument which uses sense
experience, through our experiences with the world to prove that God
exists. It claims that the regularity, complexity and purpose found in
nature and the universe is the proof of the intelligent designer, God. Its
purpose is to explain that the worlds could not have been made without a
creator because the world is too advanced, so must have been created
with intention. The teleological argument was first proposed by St Thomas
Aquinas. He did this as he made his cosmological argument. His
arguments total to five topics which he calls his “Five Ways”. The fifth way
became a single argument due to its strength and got called the
teleological argument. However, St Thomas Aquinas was not who made
this idea skyrocket, it was William Paley.
Keywords:
Inductive – where specific observations are used to draw broader
probabilistic generalisations.
A posteriori – knowledge or reasoning derived from sense experience.
Anthropomorphism – applying human characteristics to God.
William Paley:
William Paley was an 18 century theologian and philosopher. He believed
th
that God does exist, and that his points proved God’s existence. He took
Aquinas’ argument and expanded on it with several points to support his
argument.
Paley’s Watchmakers analogy:
William Paley said that if you were walking and found a watch on the
ground, you wouldn’t think it had just appeared randomly, you would
assume it was made by someone, because all parts of it fit together to fill
, a purpose. He used this idea to say the universe is like the watch,
complex, regular and purposeful. From this Paley concluded that this
universe must have a designer, and that designer must be specifically the
Christian God.
Complexity:
Paley said that the world is too complex to have been formed without a
designer. There are parts of this world which humans do not yet
understand, proving how incredibly complex this world is, considering we
are deemed the most intelligent beings on Earth. Some parts of this world
are too complicated to have been formed by humans, so we know that if
this world truly was created, the being who created it would have to be
way more advanced and intelligent than us. Paley said that knowing the
world is unimaginably complex proves it must have a creator. The higher
the complexity of something is, the greater intelligence you need to
create it.
Purpose:
Paley believed everything in this universe has a purpose. Plants grow to
provide us oxygen and food; soil holds nutrients for plants. You cannot
think of one thing which does not have a purpose. If you find something
that is truly believed to have no purpose, maybe you just haven’t
discovered its purpose. Paley says that if this world is full of such a
purpose, it must also have been created with the intention of fulfilling its
job, and this intention must come from God.
Regularity:
Paley said that the world is also too orderly to not have been created by
an intelligent designer. The world flows smoothly. The world follows this
pattern of peace, conflict, then chaos (such as war), then peace gets
restored and the cycle continues. There is also regularity in the seasons,
every year the seasons will come around the same periods, and the
weather will change accordingly. There are many examples of how this
world holds order. Paley says the world couldn’t flow and well as it does if
it weren’t for God, because it is difficult to comprehend how this could all
come about naturally. He also believed that regularity proves the universe
was carefully planned out, is full of intention and was made with control,
and only God could do this.
David Hume:
Argument (Design
Argument)
What is the teleological argument?
The teleological argument is a philosophical argument which uses sense
experience, through our experiences with the world to prove that God
exists. It claims that the regularity, complexity and purpose found in
nature and the universe is the proof of the intelligent designer, God. Its
purpose is to explain that the worlds could not have been made without a
creator because the world is too advanced, so must have been created
with intention. The teleological argument was first proposed by St Thomas
Aquinas. He did this as he made his cosmological argument. His
arguments total to five topics which he calls his “Five Ways”. The fifth way
became a single argument due to its strength and got called the
teleological argument. However, St Thomas Aquinas was not who made
this idea skyrocket, it was William Paley.
Keywords:
Inductive – where specific observations are used to draw broader
probabilistic generalisations.
A posteriori – knowledge or reasoning derived from sense experience.
Anthropomorphism – applying human characteristics to God.
William Paley:
William Paley was an 18 century theologian and philosopher. He believed
th
that God does exist, and that his points proved God’s existence. He took
Aquinas’ argument and expanded on it with several points to support his
argument.
Paley’s Watchmakers analogy:
William Paley said that if you were walking and found a watch on the
ground, you wouldn’t think it had just appeared randomly, you would
assume it was made by someone, because all parts of it fit together to fill
, a purpose. He used this idea to say the universe is like the watch,
complex, regular and purposeful. From this Paley concluded that this
universe must have a designer, and that designer must be specifically the
Christian God.
Complexity:
Paley said that the world is too complex to have been formed without a
designer. There are parts of this world which humans do not yet
understand, proving how incredibly complex this world is, considering we
are deemed the most intelligent beings on Earth. Some parts of this world
are too complicated to have been formed by humans, so we know that if
this world truly was created, the being who created it would have to be
way more advanced and intelligent than us. Paley said that knowing the
world is unimaginably complex proves it must have a creator. The higher
the complexity of something is, the greater intelligence you need to
create it.
Purpose:
Paley believed everything in this universe has a purpose. Plants grow to
provide us oxygen and food; soil holds nutrients for plants. You cannot
think of one thing which does not have a purpose. If you find something
that is truly believed to have no purpose, maybe you just haven’t
discovered its purpose. Paley says that if this world is full of such a
purpose, it must also have been created with the intention of fulfilling its
job, and this intention must come from God.
Regularity:
Paley said that the world is also too orderly to not have been created by
an intelligent designer. The world flows smoothly. The world follows this
pattern of peace, conflict, then chaos (such as war), then peace gets
restored and the cycle continues. There is also regularity in the seasons,
every year the seasons will come around the same periods, and the
weather will change accordingly. There are many examples of how this
world holds order. Paley says the world couldn’t flow and well as it does if
it weren’t for God, because it is difficult to comprehend how this could all
come about naturally. He also believed that regularity proves the universe
was carefully planned out, is full of intention and was made with control,
and only God could do this.
David Hume:
