Outline of the Teleological Argument

TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT

Purpose Order Design

Plato

• The universe was pre-existent
• A  being existed in the universe that had the power to shape world
• A DEMI-URGE
• This demi-urge ordered the world but did not create the materials

Aristotle

• The only explaination for the complexity and beauty of the universe is that it was created by a divine intelligence.

Aquinas; Fifth Way

• Something that lacks intelligence cannot move towards fufilling it's useful purpose (TELOS)
• An intelligent being has to influence it towards fufilling it's TELOS
• Arrow + archer = fufilled purpose
• Everything in the universe follows certain natural laws which mean that there must be an intelligent being guiding them: God

Paley; The Watchmaker

• If we were to find a watch, we would assume that it had a creator as it has such complexities and beauty, and we can assume the same of the universe.
• Even if the watch didn't work or we didn't know what it was for, we would still assume there is a creator.
• Que = by virtue of
• "Design qua purpose" - God as a designer created everything with a purpose, and also with the capabilities of achieving its purpose.
• "Design qua regularity" - a guiding intelligence must have created the universe to give the universe the regularity of motion that it has, EG the stars and planets.

Anthropic Principle

• Weak form:- "we must be prepared to take into account the fact that our location in the universe is necessarily privileged to the extent of being compatible with our existence as observers"
• We must accept that the universe is here by design and not by chance
• Strong form:- "The Universe (and hence the fundamental parameters on which it depends) must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage"
• The universe was created to develop intelligent life
• Fredrick Tennant;
• 1) The fact that our universe provides everything necessary for life
• 2) Our world can be observed and holds…