The Teleological Argument

?
  • Created by: R Butler
  • Created on: 05-04-13 15:53
View mindmap
  • The Teleological Argument for the existence of God
    • One of the arguments main exponents is William Paley who lived in the 18th century.
      • He provided the analogy of a watch found in a desert. The watch shows obvious marks of design, and therefore proves the existence of a watchmaker.
        • Therefore, the world shows marks of design, this proves the existence of a designer God.
    • Sir Isaac Newton provides evidence for the teleological argument through a study of thumbs. As each thumb on a human has a unique print, and the thumb is obviously designed for activities that require dexterous skills, that set us apart from the apes.
      • He said - "In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence."
    • The  basic structure of the argument is this:
      • Everything in the universe is too ordered to have come about by random chance
      • Therefore it must have been designed
      • A design requires a designer, this is God
    • This argument is posteriori and synthetic, meaning it is based on experience, looking at the  world and taking judgments and deductions.
    • The  Anthropic  Principle observes that the world as we have it is uniquely equipped to sustain human life.
    • This argument highlights the question of whether we can explain evil by a faulty design. We also wonder why only God is shown as responsible for creating the world, why not a patheon of angels
    • David Hume argues that the sense of order and purpose we see in the world can be supported by scientific evidence.
    • There is a flaw in the argument in that Paley assumes that there is order in teh world, however Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle and the Third Law of Thermodynamics suggests that chaos is underneath the apparent order
  • Therefore it must have been designed
  • A design requires a designer, this is God
  • Everything in the universe is too ordered to have come about by random chance

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Religious Studies resources:

See all Religious Studies resources »