Design Argument

• Argues that the Universe is too beautiful and complex to be the result of chance
• A.K.A Telelogical Argument, from Greek 'telos' (end/purpose)
• A posteriori argument, uses the evidence of the senses
• Inductive reasoning, conclusion is considered highly probable given the evidence

Evidence:

• Design qua purpose, the Universe has many complex parts which work together for a purpose
• Design qua regularity, the Universe follows certain predictable rules

5th of his five ways to prove God (Summa Theologica) is a version of the Design Argument.

Knowledge of God comes from:

• God's revelation, revealed theology
• Observation of God's creation, natural theology

The argument:

• Dull matter cannot be self ordering
• The design we see in the universe is the result of an intelligent, designing mind, God

Analogy of the archer:

• An arrow cannot direct itself to a target without being pointed and fired by an archer
• Likewise, the universe requires a designer to order it and to give it purpose

Put forward his version of the Design Argument in his work 'Natural Theology'

Analogy of the watch:

• If you were walking along and came upon a stone then you would not question it and assume it had arrived there through natural forces
• However if you came upon a watch you would ask how it had come to be there and who had made it
• You would also assume it had a designer
• This is because the watch is so complex and clearly has a purpose, even if it is broken or the purpose is unknown
• Likewise the universe is so complex and purposeful that it must have a designer

Anthropic Principle:

• The Universe has been formed so that intelligent life can emerge, this is no coincidence
• If any of the conditions of the universe were slightly different then intelligent life would not have been able to emerge
• There are three pieces of evidence:
  • Universe can be rationally analysed
  • Inorganic world has allowed life to emerge
  • Intelligent life has emerged

Aesthetic Argument:

• Humans have an appreciation for beauty
• Whilst this is life enhancing it has no evolutionary benefit and is not necessary for survival
• Therefore it must have been put there by an all-loving God

Probability:

• Given the complexity of the Universe it seems more probable to assume that there is a designer

David Hume:

• Depicts that world as a machine, when it is more like a huge living organism
• Consider evil and suffering
• The Universe is unique so we do not have enough evidence to draw conclusions from
• There is no reason it is the God of Classical Theism

Epicurean Hypothesis:

• The Universe is the result of randomly moving particles
• In infinite time and space a random universe would go through all possible combinations and this is just one of them
• Like a monkey randomly hitting keys on a typewriter would, in infinte time and space, eventually write the entire works of Shakespeare

Darwin and Evolution:

• The world was not created by God but by a process of evolution (this includes survival of the fittest and natural selection)
• The order we can see in the Universe today is the result of years of this process
• The Anthropic Principle could reply by simply saying that God created evolution too

Immanuel Kant:

• Put forward an argument from perception
• The order we see in the universe may only exist in our minds
• It is something our minds have imposed on us to help make sense of what is going on around us