teleological argument

• Telelogical argument

  Analogy of an arrow flying through the air - the purpose of the crew is to hit the target but it is caused by an archer who planned the action and executed it
• Paley's Watch Analogy


  If you come across a stone, you would assume it got there by chance. If you come across a watch, you would not come to the same conclusion. It has been put together for a purpose, adjusted to produce motion and regulated.
• Probability - the world is too improbable to have happened by chance alone
• Intelligent Design


  • An evidence based scientific theory about life's origin (rather than a religious-based idea)
  • Irreducible Complexity - a single system with interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, the removal of any part would cause the system to stop functioning
  • Specified Complexity - complex specified information, patterns that are unlikely to happen by chance
• Features of the universe that suggest it was designed (Swinburne)


  • The existence of the universe
  • The universe is orderly
  • Existence of consciousness and thought
  • Human opportunities to do good
  • The pattern of history
  • Evidence of miracles
  • Religious experiences
• We cannot compare creations to the universe as it is too complex and we have limited knowledge of it
• The universe may have just come from chance, and there are imperfections in nature and flaws that evolution and natural explanation can account for
• We cannot assume the same reasons for one thing apply to another, like assuming the universe has a cause just because other things do
• The analogy between the natural world and human-made objects may not be accurate or justified
• Our understanding of probability in the context of the universe may be limited
• Anthropic Principle


  • The exceptional precision in the universe's fundamental aspects that are finely tuned in a way crucial for human life to thrive, strongly implying a deliberate design by an intelligent creator
• Aesthetic Principle

  • The beauty, elegance, and artistic appeal found in the natural world, indicative of an intelligent designer who deliberately crafted the world to be aesthetically pleasing and captivating
• Beauty can be subjective and varying from person to person, so claiming the universe is designed based on aesthetic preferences can be tricky
• We cannot assume the life we know is the only way life could exist, there might be other possible ways the universe could be
• Aquinas' Fifth Way (Teleological Argument)


  1. Observation of order in the universe

  2. Intelligent design and purpose behind the order

  3. Intelligence behind the order cannot be chance or randomness

  4. Conclusion: there must be a God, an intelligent being who is the ultimate source of the order and purpose
• Paley's Design Argument


  1. Introduction to the Watchmaker Analogy

  2. Analogy applied to the natural world

  3. Complexity and adaptations in nature

  4. Argument from functional complexity
• Complexity and Adaptations in Nature

  • Paley emphasizes the complexity of living organisms and their intricate adaptations to their environments, such as the eye and the human hand, which he argues cannot be explained solely by chance
• The Teleological Argument for the Existence of God is a posteriori, based on experience, synthetic truth tested empirically, and inductive, requiring a leap of faith
• Teleos is Greek for 'end' or 'purpose'
• Exnihilo means 'out of nothing'
• Telelogical argument

  An argument for the existence of God based on the apparent purpose and design in the natural world
• Analogy of the crow and the archer

  The purpose of the arrow is to hit the target, but it is caused by an archer who planned the action and executed it
• Paley's Watch Analogy


  If you come across a stone, you would assume it got there by chance, but if you come across a watch, you would conclude it has been put together for a purpose, adjusted to produce motion and regulated
• If you come across a stone

  You would assume it got there by chance
• If you come across a watch


  You would not come to the same conclusion, it has been put together for a purpose, adjusted to produce motion and regulated
• Probability


  • The world is well designed
  • Intelligent
  • Aesthetic
  • Design
• Analogy


  Comparing two similar things to assume something about the other
• Convincing aspect of the Design Argument

  The analogy suggests the intricate order and purpose we see in the natural world, similar to human-made objects, imply an intelligent Creator
• Key criticism of the Design Argument from Analogy

  The analogy between the natural world and human-made objects may not be accurate or justified, as just because human creations have designers, it doesn't necessarily follow that the natural world must also have a designer
• Convincing aspect of the Design Argument from Probability

  The incredible improbability of the universe's precise conditions necessary for life to exist strongly hints at intentional design
• Key criticism of the Design Argument from Probability

  Saying the universe is too improbable to happen by chance assumes we know of all the possibilities and their probabilities, but our understanding of probability in this context may be limited
• Design Argument from the Anthropic Principle


  The exceptional precision in the universe's fundamental aspects, finely tuned in a way crucial for human life to thrive, strongly implies a deliberate design by an intelligent creator like God
• Criticism of the Design Argument from the Anthropic Principle


  Using the anthropic principle can be circular, as it starts with the assumption of the universe as we know it and then sees the universe as fine-tuned for that assumption
• Design Argument from the Aesthetic Principle

  The beauty, elegance, and aesthetic appeal found in the natural world are indicative of an intelligent designer, often identified as God, who deliberately crafted the world to be aesthetically pleasing
• Criticism of the Design Argument from the Aesthetic Principle


  Beauty can be subjective, varying from person to person and culture to culture, so claiming the universe is designed based on aesthetic preferences can be problematic
• Telelogical Argument for the Existence of God

  An a posteriori, synthetic, inductive argument based on the apparent purpose and design in the natural world, which suggests the universe has a designer
• Types of Telelogical Argument

  • Design qua regularity (laws of nature)
  • Design qua purpose (purpose achievement in nature)
• Ex nihilo - out of nothing