Philosophy: design arguments
- Created by: elliethornton11
- Created on: 15-09-21 20:12
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- Arguments
- William Paley
- used an analogy of a watch to argue for a designer
- if a stone was found on a heath, we could assume that the stone had always been there
- because stones are not complex
- a watch was found on a heath, we would assume that someone had designed it and put it there
- because watches are complex ie cogs, hands, face
- because the universe is also complex we can assume that it was designed
- that designer being God
- Thomas Aquinas' Fifth Way
- there is beneficial order in the universe
- this beneficial order could not happen by chance
- many objects do not have the intelligence to work towards an end or purpose
- therefore there must be directed by something that does have intelligence
- therefore God exists as an explanation of beneficial order
- therefore there must be directed by something that does have intelligence
- many objects do not have the intelligence to work towards an end or purpose
- this beneficial order could not happen by chance
- therefore God exists as an explanation of beneficial order
- there is beneficial order in the universe
- Frederick Tennant
- Anthropic Principle
- the universe 'saw us coming'
- the universe is too perfect and specific to the conditions for human life to have happened by chance
- if we were a mile closer to the sun we would burn and if we were a mile further away we would freeze
- there is the right amount of oxygen particles in the air so that we don't get poisoned or suffocate
- there is the right amount of gravity so that we don't float away or get pulled into the earth
- Aesthetic Argument
- challenged evolution, the world is 'drenched in beauty'
- life on earth may not have developed in order yo survive
- some animals have claws which aid hunting and survival
- things such as sunsets, art and literature have no purpose for survival yet still exist
- Anthropic Principle
- Michael Behe
- irreducible complex
- the idea that something cannot function as a lesser version of itself
- a biochemist who gave this evidence for irreducible complexity
- a bacterial flagellum is made of 40 proteins and if one of these proteins didn't exist then the flagellum would not function
- the function of a flagellum is to turn a motor
- a poison syringe, that spread the bubonic plague has a very similar structure yet has a different function
- therefore, this disproves irreducible complexity
- irreducible complex
- Richard Swinburne
- evolution can explain irregularities, as in this case there are cells to work on and develop
- evolution cannot explain regularities of time such as gravity or the earth orbiting the sun
- In the same way as one dances to a beat or sings along to a tune so too there is celestial normalcy
- order in time, ordering by an agent who is immensely:
- free, rational, intelligent, powerful
- William Paley
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