The Teleological Argument

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The Teleological Argument

• also known as the argument from design

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• teleological comes from the Greek word telos
  meaning design or purpose
• the cosmological argument is based on the fact of
  the universes existence (All things that exist
  must have a cause. Therefore, the first cause
  the cause of everything including itself is
  God.)
• By contrast, the teleological argument is
  based on the character of the world and the
  universe. According to the argument, our world
  is a place of such extraordinary interlocking
  complexity that the only rational explanation is
  the presence of an intelligent designer. A basic
  form of the argument can be set out as follows

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• 1. the complexity of life on earth and the
  harmonious organization of living organisms
  exhibits evidence of intelligent design
• 2. a design necessitates the presence of a
  designer
• -------------------------------------------
  ------------------------------
• ? that designer is God

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• like most arguments, the teleological argument
  has a number of variations
• 1. William Paleys argument from design
• (referred to in your text p.227
  
• as the argument from organisms)
  
• William Paley (1743-1805), in his book
  Natural Theology, made the argument that the
  complexity efficiency of natural objects (eg.
  the eye, the brain, etc.) are evidence that they
  must have been purposefully designed. How else
  could they have come to be as they are
  perfectly adapted for the purpose they serve?
• (see the example in your text about human
  skin p.227)

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• Paley uses a watch its maker to draw an
  analogy. Just by looking at a watch and all its
  intricate parts working together in unison, we
  can tell that it was designed by a watchmaker.
  So, just by examining the complexity of the eye
  and how it suits its purpose so well (to see), it
  must have been designed by some sort of Divine
  Watchmaker (God).
• Supporters of this form of design argument
  point to evidence of features of the natural
  world micro-organisms to entire galaxies as
  confirmation of Gods existence. Because such
  things are far more intricate complicated than
  a watch, the Devine Watchmaker must
  correspondingly be more intelligent than the
  human watchmaker. This Divine Watchmaker is
  what we refer to as God.

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• Criticisms of Paleys design argument
• A number of criticisms of the design argument
• have been put forward, notably by the famous
• British philosopher David Hume (1711-1776)
• 1. the analogy employed by Paley is weak it
  assumes without justification that there is a
  significant resemblance between objects which
  occur naturally (eg. the eye) and those which
  have been designed by humans (eg. a watch). Is
  there a strong similarity between the two
  sufficient to make the analogy strong?
• Hume argued that we cannot infer from the
  fact that examples of order in our universe have
  human causes (eg. the watch) that the universe as
  a whole has a cause has been designed, because
  the universe is unique. Therefore, because the
  universe is unique, we cannot rely on analogy to
  explain it.

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• 2. if the world/universe was designed, who
  designed the designer?
• This point takes us to a similar debate
  we saw with the cosmological argument. We can
  either accept the existence of God as the cause
  of the universe, and then accept Gods existence
  as necessary (ie. always existing) or, we could
  just stop at the universe and accept its
  existence as necessary (always in existence)
  without positing God to explain it.
• 3. the argument of design tells us little
  about God except God
• is a design-producing being (albeit an
  extremely powerful one!). The argument doesnt
  allow us to draw any conclusions as to Gods
  nature or character beyond that. The design
  argument doesnt prove the existence of only one
  God, as there may be multiple designers.
• (see your text p.228)

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• 4. the scientific theory of evolution
  (discovered by Charles Darwin - 1809-82) now
  provides us with an explanation of
• how complex life develops without the need
  for a designer. Darwin showed how, by a
  process of survival of the fittest, over millions
  of years, those animal plant species best
  suited to their environments live to pass on
  their characteristics to their offspring, whilst
  less well suited species perish. This process
  explains how such marvelous adaptations to
  environments as are found in the plant animal
  kingdom have occurred, without needing to
  introduce the notion of God.

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• Keep in mind though that the theory of
  evolution doesnt disprove the existence of God.
  Many Christians people of other faiths see
  evolution as compatible with belief in the
  existence of God as
• i) evolution is merely the mechanism used
  by God to create
• sustain life /or
• ii) the actual mechanism of evolution must
  have a cause
• which is God
  (see text pp.228-9)

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• 2. The fine-tuning argument
• (referred to in your text as the argument
  from the interconnectedness of things p.225-6
  229-30. )
• This is a contemporary version of the design
  argument. Proponents of the argument point to an
  increasing body of scientific research which
  indicates the statistical likelihood of life
  developing anywhere in the universe is incredibly
  small. Life on earth has only managed to develop
  because of the favourable ( statistically
  incredibly unlikely) alignment of a wide variety
  of factors. Such factors include
• the values of the laws of physics
• the values of the laws of chemistry
• the position angle of the earth relative to the
  sun
• the earths circular ( not elliptical) orbit
  around the sun
• the earths meteorological patterns
• the ability of stars to produce base elements
  that support life

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• If any of these things operated differently
  (even by a small degree), life as we know it on
  earth would not have developed.
• Therefore, the immense statistical
  improbability of these factors aligning suggests
  the presence of an intelligent designer God
  must have controlled the physical conditions in
  our universe, and fine-tuned them to allow human
  life to evolve.

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• Criticisms of the fine-tuning argument
• ? reading Richard Dawkins The God
  Delusion (2006)
• pp.134-143.
• HOMEWORK
• Explain in detail Dawkins objection to the
  fine-tuning argument. Prepare your response on
  a separate sheet of paper with your name on it to
  be handed in.
• ? also, see your text pp.229-30 for
  assistance.