Explain why the teleological argument attempts to prove the existence of God.

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Part A - Explain why the teleological argument attempts to prove the existence of God.

Many supporters of the teleological argument infer that God’s existence from a particular aspect of the world: order, regularity and purpose. Of which are seen to be part of a ‘design’. The argument concludes that God must be the source of design.

Thomas Aquinas was born in the 13th Century, he based much of his work on Aristotle’s final cause and said that all things have a purpose and have been designed. His argument is heavily is in favour for the regularity of succession. In the teleological argument, it starts with Thomas Aquinas’s fifth way. It states that the natural world, follows natural laws even if they are not conscious, thinking beings, they thrive because they obey natural laws.  Non-thinking things cannot direct themselves, for example an arrow is directed by an archer and the arrow will hit the target even though it does not have a mind of its own. There must be a mind directing non-thinking things to their goals. In this example it is the archer. However, the question arises, who is the ultimate mind, directing all things? Aquinas calls this mind, God. Even though human beings are thinking beings and can direct themselves towards goals, the cause of existence of human beings, still needs to be explained as we are not immortal and we eventually die.

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William Paley who was born 1743-1805, supported the teleological argument and came up with the watch analogy. Paley suggested that if you went for a walk in a Heath and found a rock, you conclude that it has been there forever and not think any more about it. Whereas if you found a watch on the ground, you could examine it and see all its moving parts and all its complexities. This would reveal that the watch’s parts were put together in a certain order and designed perfectly, so that it could work and achieve its purpose; to tell ...

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