The teleological argument (OCR A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

The teleological argument

Details of this argument

This is known as the argument from design.

It gets its name from the Greek word telos, meaning "end" or "purpose".

The argument states that the universe is being directed towards a telos, an end purpose.

The argument is a posteriori, meaning that all knowledge and reasoning comes from observation.

This is an inductive argument, whereby the conclusion of God's existence is probable due to the argument. The Teleological Argument aims to prove the existence of God by highlighting the apparent order and purpose in the universe, this evidence of an apparent intelligent design in the world implies the existence of an intelligent designer, God.

This is a natural theology approach, as it uses rational, scientific evidence of the world to prove God's existence.

Including reference to: Aquinas' Fifth Way

Aquinas observed that all objects follow natural laws, they have a purpose. Objects perform their job efficiently.

It can only be efficient if was designed that way, everything that is designed, must have a designer.

Things in the natural world do not have intelligence, like a tree, yet still complete in purpose, are directed to do so by something that does have intelligence. For Aquinas this is God

He explains this in the following way

Premise 1: There are some beings in this world which act for a specific reason without knowing why. He argues that non-intelligent material things (e.g. planets) produce clearly beneficial results, orbiting around the sun, this order and aiming for a specific end.

Premise 2**:** All begins that act for a specific end need to be guided by some intelligent and knowing being. Aquinas argues that there is order to everything and that it must be guided by something (Aquinas is influenced by Aristotle's final Cause)

Conclusion: There must be a being with knowledge and intelligence.

For Aquinas this is God

Aquinas' archer and arrow analogy

Aquinas argued that in the world we can see the regularity of succession, (beneficial order that must be caused by someone) planets have a special orbit and motion as seen in the way that the rotate around the sun, showing intelligence.

Aquinas used an archer and an arrow to further illustrate this, just as the arrow needs to be directed, by the archer's bow so everything in the world needs to be guided.

Therefore like the archer directs the arrow, there must be a God to direct the planets.

Aquinas is basically saying the order of the universe cannot be explained by chance, but only by design and purpose. Design and purpose is a product of intelligence. There must be an intelligent designer, who is God.

Paley

There are two parts to Paley's argument:

1. Design qua Purpose – the universe was designed to fulfil a purpose
2. Design qua Regularity – the universe behaves according to some order

Design qua Purpose – The universe was designed to fulfil a purpose

Design – Purpose – Designer

There are three parts to his argument:

1) Analogy of the watch:

A man walks across a heath and finds a rock. He attributes the existence of the rock to nature. He walks further and stumbles across a watch. After some examination, he concludes that its purpose is to measure time.

Due to the complexities of the watch, he concludes that it is impossible to suppose that the watch had come about without the agency of a 'watchmaker.'

1. The watch has a specific purpose

2. If the watch were to be assembled in a different order it would not function

3. The watch must have been designed and assembled this way, the watch has not appeared by chance

4. It does not matter if the watch sometimes goes wrong or is not perfect it was still designed

5. The designer is a watchmaker 2) Paley states 'Every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch exists in the works of nature:

6. In nature, there are examples of purpose as seen in the eye (It is obvious that the eye was designed with the specific purpose of seeing), wings (have a purpose for birds to fly), and the fins and gills on a fish (allow them to swim and breathe underwater)

7. This purpose is best explained by an Intelligent Designer

8. Nature is probably the result of an Intelligent Designer

9. He considered this designer to be God 3) He then looks at the universe and sees the same order and purpose in the universe:

10. Look at the order in the world and see the designer at work e.g. the law of gravity ensures we are suspended not too close to the sun and not too far.

11. It is impossible therefore to suppose that the universe had come about without the agency of a 'universe maker

12. This universe maker is God.

His argument can be explained in the following way

Premise 1: A watch has the intricate detail and complexity to need a watchmaker.

Premise 2: In the same way nature displays such intricacy and complexity (eye, wings, and fins)

Premise 3: The universe also shows the same intricate detail and complexity (orbit around the sun and the law of gravity).

Conclusion: There must be a designer, and this designer is God

Paley stated that just like the complexity, order, and purpose of a watch implies an intelligent designer. The natural world and the universe show the same complexity, order, and purpose implying an intelligent designer, who is God.

**And just like it does not matter if the watch sometimes goes wrong or is not perfect it was still designed, so if the world goes wrong (natural disasters, disease and suffering) it still has a designer.

This is an argument from analogy.

DESIGN QUA REGULARITY - The universe behaves according to some order

Design- Routine – Designer

🔑 Evidence from astronomy and Newton's laws of motion and gravity prove that there is routine in the universe. E.g. the rotation of the planets in the solar system obeys the same universal laws and holds their orbits because of gravity. Some eternal agent must have imposed this routine and order in the natural world and on its many parts. This can also be seen in the universe as a whole. This intelligent designer must be God.

Premise 1: The universe shows design in the way that it follows patterns and follows laws.

Premise 2: His could not have happened by chance

Conclusion: There must be an external agent who caused this, this must be God

Strengths of the teleological argument

• McGrath: The design argument demonstrates consistency in the belief of a designer.
• Swinburne: The uniformity of the laws of physics point to a single designer
• There is no need for empirical evidence for God as a posteriori evidence inductively supports the conclusion that God exists.
• Purpose is obvious within the universe, all entities act towards an end, a phenomenon science is not best suited to explain.
• F.R Tennent: Tennent's anthropic principle demonstrates how the conditions of the earth are fine-tuned for human existence and therefore suggests a creator.
• The teleological argument uses religion and science to compose a strong theory applicable and coherent with our everyday experiences.

Weaknesses of the teleological argument

• Hume: The use of analogy by Aquinas and Paley is ridiculous as the creation of the universe is radically disanalogous to a watch.
• Hume: How do we know the order in the universe suggests the existence of the God of classical theism, it could suggest a "committee of Gods."
• Hume: The teleological argument chooses which pieces of evidence to use, what does the existence of evil suggest about a creator?
• Darwin's theory of evolution: Natural selection shows that order in nature is not a result of purpose and design but science.
• Richard Dawkins: In his book "The Blind Watchmaker" Dawkins accepts that there might be a watchmaker for the universe, but it is blind.
• Hume: If we want to prove the existence of a designer from something we need: the experience of that thing being made conjoined with its designer or the experience of similar things being made by their designer.
• The argument commits a leap in logic to assume supposed purpose has to be the result of a theistic God.