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Lecture 06 Notes

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The Teleological Argument: Background

  1. Aquinas, Paley (1743-1805)
  2. Teleology = Purpose; this is the argument for God's existence from the apparent purposefulness found in the universe.
  3. Arguments by Analogy
    1. Ex. Aspects of dogs are like cats.  Dogs make good pets.  Therefore cats make good pets.
    2. What aspects of dogs are like cats?  Dogs: 4 legs, tail, housebroken.  Cats: 4 legs, tail, housebroken.
    3. Note--Not all analogous features are relevant to the conclusion.  In the above example, only the analogous feature housebroken is relevant to the good pet conclusion.  Many four-legged creatures with tails wouldn't make good pets (e.g., tigers).

 

The Teleological Argument: Argument By Analogy

  1. Aspects of natural world are like machines.
  2. Machines are produced by intelligent design.
  3. Therefore, aspects of natural world are produced by intelligent design (God).

 

Key Questions Regarding First Premise of Argument By Analogy

  1. Which aspects of the natural world are like machines?  Solar Systems?  Organisms?  Let's consider two analogies--One between the solar system and a machine, the other between an organism and a machine.
  2. In what ways are these aspects of the natural world like machines?  Machine: moving parts, regularity, teleology.  Solar Systems: moving parts that behave with regularity.  Organisms: moving parts, regularity and teleology.
  3. Are all of these analogous features relevant to the conclusion?  No.
    1. Moving Parts?  Some things that have moving parts are not necessarily produced by intelligent design (e.g., an avalanche).
    2. Regularity?  Some things that have regularity are not necessarily produced by intelligent design (e.g., a geyser).
    3. Teleology!  Things with parts that have a clear function do seem to be produced by intelligent design.  It is this feature that machines and organisms seem to share that is relevant to the argument that all are produced by intelligent design.
  4. The Focus on Functionality (Teleology)
    1. Biological systems and organisms display regularity plus teleology.  Organisms have internal parts and sub-systems with clear purposes (e.g., the eye, the circulatory system).
    2. The Link Between Functionality and Design: Purposefulness Implies Intention

 

The Teleological Argument: Inference to Best Explanation

  1. World contains many well-crafted machines with functional parts.
  2. Best explanation for this is an intelligent craftsman/designer.
  3. Therefore, there exists an intelligent craftsman/designer.
    1. Garden Analogy--If we came across flowers planted in a row as opposed to randomly scattered across a field, we would infer that the best explanation for this is that the flowers were planted by a gardener.
    2. Likewise, the best explanation for the functionality found in organisms is a designer.

The Teleological Argument: Objections and Replies

  1. Hume's Criticism (Argument By Analogy)
    1. Hume's criticism is found in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)
    2. Hume notes that if we take the analogy seriously, it suggests an imperfect God.  Machines break down and have certain flaws which suggest that they have an imperfect creator.  Likewise, solar systems and organisms display certain flaws, and so this suggests that they have an imperfect creator.
  2. Darwinian Criticism (Inference to Best Explanation)
    1. Evolution provides an alternative explanation.  There is apparent design, but this apparent design really emerges from random mutations and natural selection processes: Dawkins described nature as the "Blind Watchmaker".
    2. Garden Analogy Revised--While at first it might seem that the best explanation for flowers in a row is to assume a gardener, we could discover that plants require a specific mineral to grow, and that for geological reasons this mineral shows up only in straight lines in the soil.  We would then have a natural explanation for what once seemed to require intelligent design.  Darwin provided a similar account of the teleology of organisms.
  3. Teleology Resurrected: "Fine Tuning" Arguments About the Universe
    1. The basic parameters of physics, like the gravitational constant, appear to require "fine-tuning" in order for the universe to be life-sustaining.
    2. This suggests that the universe has teleology; certain basic parameters are deliberately tuned for the purpose of allowing intelligent life.
Copyright 2012, by the Contributing Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License
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