Willam Paley'sVersion of the Teleological Argument

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Willam Paley’s Version of the Teleological Argument

Edward Cohen

Teleological comes from the word telos meaning ‘end’ or ‘purpose.’  It infers the existence of God from a specific aspect or character of the world, mostly the presence of order, purpose and regularity. These are seen as marks of design, and the argument concludes it must be God who was the source of creation. Evidence used makes it an a posteriori argument, meaning it is based on observation. The argument has two parts, design qua regularity and design qua purpose, qua meaning ‘as relating to.’ A prominent philosopher advocating the “design argument” is Willam Paley.

Before looking in detail at the various types of the argument, it is important to establish the basics of the design argument for the existence of God.  It states that; the universe has order, purpose and regularity, the complexity of the universe shows evidence of design, such design implies a designer, and the designer of the universe is God.  It is clear from this that the argument makes the simple assumption that there is order and design in the universe, and that all things function for a specific reason.  This assumption is made from evidence in the world such as the changing seasons, the lifestyles of both animals and birds and the intricate design of the human body and its perfect adaptations.

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The first part of the argument – design qua regularity looks at design relating to the order and regularity seen in the universe.  Supporters of the argument see this order as evidence in itself of a designer at work.  An example that could be used is a formal garden showing evidence of a gardener due to the order, lack of weeds and arrangement of flowers in the borders, therefore showing there is order and regularity evident in the universe, such as the rotation of the planets and natural laws. Philosophers, such as Paley come to the conclusion that this could ...

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