Strengths and Weaknesses of the Teleological Argument - Advantages and disadvantages table in A Level and IB Philosophy

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Created by: haveyoumetkiwi
Created on: 17-05-16 20:32

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Teleological Argument

Advantages

William Paley - 'Natural Theology' - Watch analogy
Frederick Tennant - 'Philosophical Theology' - Anthropic and aesthetic principles
Richard Swinburne - 'Is There a God?' - Fine tuning argument
St. Thomas Aquinas - 'Summa Theologia' - Arrow/archer analogy, intelligent force
Arthur Brown - 'Footprints of God' - Ozone layer

Disadvantages

Richard Dawkins - 'The Blind Watchmaker' - Illusion of design, cultural inheritance
David Hume - 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' - Criticised Paley's analogy, objects being compared
Mark Twain - Man overestimates importance
Immanuel Kant - Humans project order, we cannot see noumena only phenomena

Evaluation

Although there are many relevant weaknesses of the argument, ultimately, the existence of the God of Classical Theism is evident through the evidence of design in the universe.

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