Summary Edexcel AS/A Level Religious Studies Philosophy - Unit 1 Philosophical Issues and Questions

THE DESIGN ARGUMENT
 The design argument is a teleological argument that argues that DESIGN ARGUMENT Tennan
the universe is ordered towards some end or purpose and was  The
created by an intelligent being to accomplish that purpose. HUME ON DESIGN ARGUMENT in th
 It is an inductive argument because it argues that our experience Before Paley put forward his design argument, Hume had put mus
of order and regularity in the universe is evidence for a universe forward some key criticisms of design arguments that can be applied
that has been designed and offers the probable conclusion that to Paley’s argument:
 The
there must be a design – God.  Our experience of the universe is limited – humans do not natu
 It is also an a posteriori argument because it relies on our sense- have sufficient knowledge of the origins of the world to assume
experience of the universe. that there is only one designer.
 Analogies do not always work – there are not enough strong  The
PALEY’S DESIGN ARGUMENT similarities between the watch and the universe to infer that they com
Paley put forward two kinds of design argument: have a similar cause. The universe is more like a living thing, des
 The Argument from Purpose something that grows of its own accord rather than something  Dar
 If a watch was found on a heath, it would require further made by hand.
spe
explanation as it is inferred that the watch has been put  We cannot know anything about the cause from the effect
together to fulfil a purpose. – Paley assumes that the God who designed the universe is a
This
 The watch contains evidence of design, therefore it has a Christian God. But there could be more than one God, or the ada
designer. being that designed the watch might not be the same being that orga
 The features that was observable in the watch were also created the universe. cha
observable in nature; everything seems to have been sele
designed to fulfil some function and the way the natural world ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE  Pale
fulfils these functions seems ordered and regular. The arguments that reason and purpose of the universe is
 Just as it is unreasonable to assume that the watch came
env
to support human life. There are two forms of anthropic they
about without a watchmaker, so it is unreasonable to suggest principle:
that the universe came about without a designer – God. und
 The Argument from Regularity
 Weak Anthropic Principle – because we are here, the bird
 A watch works by having regular mechanical movements universe must have the properties necessary for life; if it dem
where regularity in the watch can be compared to regularity didn’t, we wouldn’t be here.  This
in the universe e.gg. the movements of planets.  Strong Anthropic Principle – it was necessary for the spe
 Regularity in the mechanism of the watch points to a watch- universe to have the properties it did, and the fine tunings
maker responsible for that regularity.
inte
in its creation. The universe was intelligently constructed Mor
 Regularity in the universe leads us to infer the existence of a
and could not have come into being in any other way. nee
designer of that regularity.