David Humes Challenges Against Teleological Argument

• Scottish Philosopher David Hume was one of the biggest critics of the teleological argument
• Despite writing before Paley most of his criticisms have been applied to Paley’s argument.
• Hume challenged the underlying assumption of Paley’s argument, the idea that like effects have like causes.

  Hume said that this was an unproven claim which is not possible to base an argument on.

  Like effects do not always have like causes.
• Hume said that Paley’s comparison between things in nature and man made machines was an unsound analogy.

  The world was not like a machine, and that perhaps all things in nature should be treated like the rock in Paley’s original analogy.
• Hume argued that we have no experience in the way that worlds are created, and therefore can make no certain judgements about the way the world is made.

  We know that a watch needs a watchmaker because we have lots of experience with machines and things like watches.

  However we have nothing to compare our universe with and have no point of reference for judging whether it is designed or not
• Hume claimed that even if the analogically argument did point to the need for a designer, it did not prove that this is the God of classical theism.

  It leads to a limited human view of God (anthropomorphic view)

  Perhaps the universe was the work of

  1. an infant God
  2. a frail or incompetent God
  3. an evil God
  4. Many Gods working in collaboration.