...The teleological argument is one of the five arguments for the existence of god. It attempts to prove gods existence by using our experience of the world or universe around us. This makes it a posterior in nature. Teleological arguments can essentially be broken down into two main types pre Darwinian and post Darwinian. We shall focus on pre Darwinian as these are the most traditional of these two arguments. Further sub division of teleological arguments can be identified in the guise of design qua regularity and design qua purpose. It is within these areas that we the find the thinking of two philosophers Aquinas(13thC) and paley (19C). The teleological design argument gets its name from the Greek word telos which mean end, goal or purpose it is this end or purpose that both Aquinas and paley are looking for that will suggest the existence of a divine creator. We will begin by outlining Aquinas fifth way from the governance of things or the design qua regularity argument. Aquinas observed the universe and concluded that everything in it must be working in some kind of order. In particular he noticed that natural bodies (flowers or insects) behaved in a regular way. For example a daffodil flowers every spring time he then goes on to notice the fact that these natural bodies lack intelligence, by this he means they are not conscious of there own movement. A daffodil does not know that it is spring time but flowers unconsciously. He concludes that as they lack the intelligence...
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...Explain Paley’s Teleological argument (25) According to the argument from design, or teleological argument, the design or order found in the universe provides evidence for the existence of an intelligent designer (or orderer) usually identified as God. A classic version of this argument appears in William Paley's 1802 Natural Theology, where Paley compares the complexity of living things to the inferior complexity of a watch that we deduce to be designed by an intelligent being. Just as a watch could not exist without a watchmaker, Paley argued, living things could not exist without an intelligent designer. The teleological or design argument is a derivative of the Greek word Telos which means end, goal or purpose. It is this end or purpose that Paley is looking for that suggests the existence of a divine creator. Aquinas’ fifth way ‘From the governance of things’ or design qua regularity argument (qua meaning through or pertaining to) foregrounding the argument for design, observed the universe and saw that everything in the universe appeared to be working in some sort of order. In particular he noticed that ‘natural bodies’ behaved in a regular way. Here Aquinas addresses flowers or insects - One could use the example of a daffodil that flowers in spring time. He then goes on to evaluate the fact that these natural bodies ‘lack intelligence’ - they are not conscious or sentient beings of their own movement, yet even so they appear to move or act in regular fashion - as...
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...Got Questions What is the Teleological argument for the existence of God? Subscribe to our Question of the Week: Teleological argument Question: "What is the Teleological argument for the existence of God?" Answer: The word teleology comes from telos, which means "purpose" or "goal." The idea is that it takes a "purposer" to have purpose, and so, where we see things obviously intended for a purpose, we can assume that those things were made for a reason. In other words, a design implies a designer. We instinctively make these connections all the time. The difference between the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore is obvious—one is designed, one is not. The Grand Canyon was clearly formed by non-rational, natural processes, whereas Mount Rushmore was clearly created by an intelligent being—a designer. When we are walking on a beach and find a wristwatch, we do not assume that time and random chance produced the watch from blowing sand. Why? Because it has the clear marks of design—it has a purpose, it conveys information, it is specifically complex, etc. In no scientific field is design considered to be spontaneous; it always implies a designer, and the greater the design, the greater the designer. Thus, taking the assumptions of science, the universe would require a designer beyond itself (i.e., a supernatural designer). The teleological argument applies this principle to the whole universe. If designs imply a designer...
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...The teleological argument also known as the design argument is a posteriori basing stuff primarily on knowledge gained from external experience. The idea being that basically due to the intricacies of the world there must be a designer. The word telos from teleological means purpose and purpose links in with Aristotle’s ideas of causality. The argument has two sides one being Aquinas’s on an argument to design and Paley’s being an argument from design. Aquinas 1224-1274 argument comes from the fifth of his five ways which is him pointing out the fact that there is evidence in the world around us of the existence of God therefore showing his Empirical knowledge. Furthermore Aquinas holds the belief that humans are always working towards something, such as knowledge (act for an end), as we strive to achieve the best outcome; meaning we do not achieve that end or outcome intentionally, instead it is for a reason. Aquinas reinforced the view that something which lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless guided by a being ‘endowed with knowledge and intelligence’, therefore, this shows that there must be some intelligent being that exists, pushing humans towards a goal or an end. Aquinas concluded that this being is God. Much like Aquinas William Paley made the argument about the existence of God through an argument from design. Paley, a theologian thought of the analogy through the use of a stone and a watch. He said that if you came across a stone never having seen it...
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...Examine how the Teleological Argument for the existence of God has developed. The teleological argument is the design argument for the existence of God. The name is derived from the Greek word ‘telos’ which means “end” or “purpose”. This theory speaks about things in the universe that appear to fulfil a purpose. Such design could not have occurred by chance, the only explanation has to do with references to an intelligent, personal being. This makes it an ‘a posteriori’ argument. The origin of the teleological argument dates back to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (424-348 BCE) who believed in a pre-existent universe. He believed that the universe wasn’t created by an intelligent being which he referred to as the ‘demi-urge’. Instead his theory stated that the demi-urge did not create the universe ex nihilo, he simply developed a universe which he already existed in. For Plato, this was a rational explanation as to why there’s order in the world rather than chaos. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) who was a student of Plato also contributed to this theory. He considered that based on all that can be observed in the world and the stars above, the only explanation for all the complexity and beauty that the world contains was a divine intelligence. He believed that there was a first unmoved mover who is responsible for all order that exists. Such a God was also viewed as possessing intelligence, goodness, eternity yet remained incorporeal. St. Thomas Aquinas (13th century) adapted...
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...In my opinion the teleological argument has not successful survived all criticisms, it has actually not survived any of the criticisms. I believe this because the criticisms either attack the observation, the logic, the idea of god or all three and without all three the argument collapses. For example one criticism from Hume which is that there is a lot of evidence (such as natural disasters) to suggest that the world was poorly designed therefore how can a God who is meant to be all powerful and omni-benevolent have designed it. This is an extremely successful criticism because it is attacking the idea of god, also challenging the observation of the teleological argument which stated that our world is so complex and perfectly designed. This destroys the argument because if the world is not perfect then God (the perfect being) could not have designed the world because this means God is not God because he’s wouldn't be omni-benevolent, therefore there’s a possibility that the world is just here by chance. In addition criticism made by Fleu attacks the most important part of the teleological argument and any argument which is the logic. He points out that the argument is circular, the premise assumes the conclusion. The premise that there is evidence of a design, assumes that because of that there must be a designer, and then goes further onto wrongly again assuming that the designer has to be God. Showing that the argument is just a bunch of assumptions that could easily be...
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...Explain Hume’s criticisms of the teleological argument. (25) St. Thomas Aquinas’s teleological argument seeks to prove, a posteriori, the existence of an intelligent God by arguing that the world is full of inanimate, non-intelligent natural bodies which function in order, in an intelligent way. He said that for inanimate bodies to do this, they require an intelligent being to bring this action about. This being is God. The 18th-century philosopher David Hume wrote a book named Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion in which he criticised Aquinas’s teleological argument, and several other teleological arguments. Firstly, Hume says that the apparent intelligent functioning of many unintelligent bodies – e.g., the complex systems by which plants take up minerals from the soil to cause water uptake into their roots – can be explained by the ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest, by which the organisms that happen by chance mutations to be most well-adapted to their environments are the ones which survive to reproduce, making their functions appear to be ordered specifically for their environments and therefore seeming designed. Therefore, apparent design may well not be in fact design. Hume uses this idea to criticise the major premise of Aquinas’s teleological argument. Hume also asserts that the world does not necessarily point to an intelligent designer. He uses the apparent cruelty often observed in nature – said to be “red in tooth and claw” – to argue...
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...the question we face! For many years Theists and Atheist have debated this question for many years along with their central views and beliefs that we as human being rely on as it relates to Life and God. The Point of views and debates center around the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological argument (argument from Design) and the most debated argument as it relates to this topic called the Problem with evil? When questioning wither or not God Exist these traditional arguments play significant roles in investigating and proving or discrediting someone’s view or stance on this specific Philosophical belief. As you read McCloskey article “On Being an Atheist” he argues the Theist stance who believe in the Existence of God from the perspective view of an Atheist. McCloskey in writing this Article is not trying to discredit their belief in the Existence of God, but to raise questions, doubts and uncertainties concerning their arguments on which they stand on to prove their belief by ultimately concluding that the Theist arguments are not valid and should be disregarded as evidence to prove their belief in the existence of God. The problem with McCloskey argument against the argument of Theistic View is the Theist argument is not to literally prove their belief concretely on the existence of God, but there view is design to give us what is called “Best Explanation”. According to Forman Best Explanation “is to Arrive at a view you can live with, to discover which view offer the Best...
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...philosophical arguments in the book is the Ontological Argument. Ontological Argument is highly recognized as one of the most remarkable arguments ever set forth not just an argument for God’s existence but a purely analytic argument. Ontological argument was regarded as the most intriguing of all arguments for theism. It also regarded as family of arguments. This particular argument is also called “a priori” argument. This does not rely mainly on the facts on observable world. But , it tries to show that the existence of God comes from the very definition of God itself as the most perfect being without using facts. An “a priori” argument about God’s existence depends on how we define God. The point of this argument is very crucial because, if the Ontological Argument proves to be valid, it is not just the mere existence of God is established, but more significantly, also traditional attributes that theists believe God to have. Nonetheless, the Ontological argument has been influential that it has both earned numerous passionate critics and defender of various philosophical learning from the time it was advocated until today. One of them is Immanuel Kant who is believed to have delivered a fatal blow to the this argument by pointing out that “existence” is not the real predicate. The problem to say “God exists” does not tell us anything about God. The use of the word exist does not add anything new to our understanding of God. Another argument is also the Cosmological Argument. The...
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...believes that the existence of evil discredits arguments made in support of believing in God. There is not one single thing in this world that we can know definitively without looking at the evidence. You have to look at the whole picture. Just like in a criminal investigation, the crime scene investigators gather evidence they are not looking for just the bullets or just the body. They look and gather all the data before coming to any conclusions. We will discuss each of the arguments and some additional reasons McCloskey gives as reasons not to believe that God exists. Cosmological Argument When we examine the cosmological argument we find that for something to exist there has to be a cause for its existence. The universe exists and was necessary for human beings to exist. We are contingent beings; our existence relies on the existence of the universe. We exist, and therefore so does the universe exist and there must be an ultimate cause of that existence. McCloskey makes a good point when he says the cosmological argument does not prove there is an all powerful, perfect uncaused cause but it provides strong evidence that there is some necessary cause to the world we live in and instead of being dismissed it should move us to investigate that “necessary cause” in more detail. The argument certainly has its weaknesses. For instance, if everything has a cause then what caused God? When analyzing the strengths of the argument it highlights the fact that things do not bring...
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...Study Guide: Lesson 18 Arguments for the Existence of God Lesson Overview: In this lesson, we arrive at 1 of the most important questions of the course for Christians: Do we have good reasons to believe that God exists? Today, many are claiming that there is no evidence for God’s existence and those who believe in God are just deluding themselves. However, this lesson will show that some very interesting arguments have been developed throughout the history of philosophy that demonstrate that the theist is within his epistemic rights in believing in God. While the case is not 100% certain (few things are in philosophy), it is certainly reasonable in the absence of any contrary evidence to hold that God exists as the best explanation for certain effects we observe in creation. Tasks: View and take notes of the presentation: “Arguments for God’s Existence.” Read “The Absurdity of Life without God” by William Lane Craig. This reading by Christian philosopher William Lane Craig is titled the “The Absurdity of Life without God.” In this powerful argument, Craig seriously considers the ramifications for us if in fact there really is no God. I assign it to my students on campus and they always tell me it is their favorite reading of the semester. I think you will really enjoy it. It is not a difficult reading and is very powerful on a personal level. While it does not prove God's existence, it does add positive epistemic evidence for the cumulative case for God as...
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...believe that: (God and the afterlife exist ) SECTION III: Clarify Your Belief and Position: (10 /10) A Supreme Being: (Maximum 200 words) I am a theist and I believe that God exists. One key reason why is because my mom has raised me to believe that there is a God since I was a baby, I have been to church multitudes of times and also have read the bible many times so naturally I am going to believe that he is real. Yes my mom “raised me in the church” but that’s not the only reason I believe in God though, I believe because after observing and living life on this planet for the past 20 years I have came to my own conclusion God exists. I feel life it self is too far too complex and diverse for there not to be one (The Teleological Argument). Just like how we know a car or a skyscraper was created by people because of the complexity of the creation so is the same logic I use when I defend the existence of God, after taking biology this year it only made my belief in a God stronger by learning how life on earth works, from my point of view It really amazes me how people think that there is no God. The Afterlife: (Maximum 200 words) I am a theist and I believe that there is an after life. I am a firm Believer in God so naturally that would make me a firm believer in the after life as well. Proving that the after life is real is a very difficult thing to do but, I believe one of the biggest pieces of evidence that there is a life after this one is of all the testimony...
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...McCLOSKEY PHIL 201-D10 FALL 2011 DR. EDWARD MARTIN BY IVAN DERRICK COOKE Cooke 2 INTRODUCTION In 1968, atheist philosopher H.J. McCloskey composed a strong argument on how being an atheist was far superior to the theistic lifestyle. This imperious article was published in the journal Question and reflects McCloskey’s view that “atheism is a much more comfortable belief than theism, and why theists should be miserable just because they are theists.”1 In his article, McCloskey seeks to disprove many of the arguments that theists believe and often seemingly ridicules or persecutes those who believe in God. Among the arguments McCloskey attempts to minimalize, there are three common proofs that many, if not all, theists lean on for their belief in God. These proofs include the cosmological proof, the teleological proof, and the argument from design. Furthermore, McCloskey speaks on the problem of evil and how the existence of evil disproves the reality of a God. Near the end of McCloskey’s article, he also insists that atheism is comforting, claiming that it is more comforting than theism. This paper will debate the validity and truth of the three claims that McCloskey seeks to discount in his article and will further debate the problem of evil and disprove the idea that atheism is comforting. PROOFS VS. ARGUMENTS ------------------------------------------------- McCloskey often slights the theistic view as one of vagueness and ignorance. He states, when referring to...
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...McCloskey is one of those people. The following paper will discuss some of the arguments Mr. McCloskey has against God, as well as, a proper rebuttal for them. Mr. McCloskey would argue that the different arguments, or “proofs” as he calls it, do not provide an accurate case for the existence of God, therefore they should be ignored (McCloskey 51). The problem is, that the arguments were never meant to be used as definitive proof, but rather as a “best explanation” as explained by Dr. Foreman (Foreman Presentation: God’s Existence). The arguments for God’s existence are just that, arguments. Those who use these arguments would understand that the arguments are not perfect and theoretically they...
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...universe, and the source of all moral authority. When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible states that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God. Up to this day, there are many differing opinions as to whether a God exists or not. The great controversy has led to my personal belief that God exists through the teleological, ontological and cosmological arguments. These major ideas help to back up my statement that God exists. Based on our everyday experiences, just about everything seems to have a beginning. William Paley was a philosopher during the eighteenth century who is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God. Derived from the Greek word "telos" which means "design or purpose", the teleological argument proposes that God must exist because the inner workings of the universe are too complicated and precise to just have come about on it's own. Through often confused with the argument from simple analogy, the watchmaker argument from Paley is a more sophisticated design argument that attempts to avoid...
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