Teleological argument

TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT 

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Teleological argument: Any argument which casts in terms of the end (telos) or purpose of something. 

Final clause: Aristotle’s idea of the ultimate purpose of a thing. 

Design argument: attempts to demonstrate that the patterns found in nature are explicable only by the reference to a cosmic designer. Paley. 

Enlightenment: period of intellectual enquiry in history. 

Apologetics: theological attempts to defend the x faith. 

Ockham’s razor (occasional razor): refers to the idea that theories should not be multiplied beyond necessity. If we have to chose between two or more theories, the one with the smallest number of assumptions is the most likely to be correct. 

Aquinas’ firth way: 

Telos (Greek: end)- adds on to Aristotles theory of 4 clauses- the idea of the final clause, the purpose of things. Assumes everything in the universe has a purpose, eg bees make honey and pollinate plants, without it the ecosystems would die. 80% of our food come from plants bees pollenate. Argues for a designer bc these objects which lack knowledge always reach their telos by doing the same thing and seemed to always achieve it (bees) without the wit or knowledge to really know to do something like that. Therefore they must I’ve been directed by a designer, of knowledge and intelligence. This being we call god. 

Influenced by Aristotles notion that nature is teleological, everything surveys a purpose= described as a notion of the design argument. Aq- not only is there purpose in the universe but it comes directly form god. 

Newton- enlightenment & natural theology- n described the world as a machine like system. Used maths and classical geometry to demonstrate how the universe follows mathematical principles. Claimed to demonstrate the system of the world. 

Paley- design argument: most famous- Paley’s watch- an enlightenment thinker. 

Points out the complexity of the brain & eye, surely it follows these things must have a designer? Illustrates this analogy bu the famous analogy of Paley’s watch. A rock, when found, can be explained by the environment and nature, a watch must have been designed, the watchmaker is a necessity for it to exist, p argues the universe is like this also. 3 comments:

1.        Our inference is valid, even if we have never seen one before, it is obv different from the rock. 

2.        Even if it didn’t work perfectly (as our world does not seem to function properly) there is enough design to show the necessity of the watchmaker. 

3.        Even if we didn’t understand how the watch works (as we cannot understand or explain god) our inference would still be correct. 

Tennant- anthropic principle 

Hume: 

1.        Aptness of analogy. 

2.        Epicurean thesis.

3.        Argument from effect to cause. 

Mill: the amount of evil in the world is a fundamental objection to design.

Evolution/darwin: no purpose, seen in evolution. 

Swinburne & simplicity: appeals to ockhams razor.

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Aq- obv Q? Wether this is actually true- does everything serve a purpose? Modern biology says no. Much is the result of chance. ‘Purpose’ implies a mental state- can all…