"Design and the working out of an underlying purpose is evident in the world. The only reasonable explanation for this is that there is a designer and that designer is god" Discuss

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“Design and the working out of an underlying purpose is evident in the world. The only reasonable explanation for this is that there is a designer and that designer is god”

  1. Look at the first sentence – what is the evidence on which this claim is based

The Design argument is also known as the teleological argument. Telos is a Greek word meaning ‘end’ or ‘purpose’.

The teleological argument is an extension if the cosmological argument, it is Aquinas’ 5th way.

The design argument is based on the idea not that the universe exists, but that it exists in a particular way. It says that the universe shows order and design. The design argument is an a posteriori argument and does not claim that its conclusions are logically true. It is based on observation of the apparent order in the universe and the natural world, to conclude that it is not the result of chance, but of design.

The first person to suggest that there was a designer of the world was Anaxagorus, and Plato argues it in more detail. The design argument was a popular belief in the 18th centaury; it was at this time that one of the most famous examples was written by William Paley, in his natural theology. Paley wrote about finding a watch and a stone on a heath. Paley said that if he found a rock on a heath it would be a satisfactory explanation to say it had always been there, but if he found a watch the he would know that that watch would have to of had a designer, and each piece of the watch would at some point had to of been designed, so he knows that the watch has not always been there. Paley said, “Just as the discovery of a watch on a heath could not be satisfactorily explained by saying it had always been there. The order evident in the universe demands an explanation. The watch is an analogy for the world. It demonstrates purpose, design and Telos (an end or ultimate function). All parts of the watch unite to fulfil that function and this unity cannot be explained by chance. Even if we had never seen a watch before we could still tell that it has been designed. And even if parts if it appear to malfunction or if we cannot work out the function that individual parts contribute to the watch it does not disprove that the watch has been designed”.

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 The Philosopher F.R. Tennant developed the Anthropic principle. Tennant believed that there were three types of natural evidence in the world in favour of a divine designer. These are:

  1. The fact that the world can be analysed in a rational manner
  2. The way in which the inorganic world has provided the necessities required to sustain life
  3. The process of evolution towards the emergence of intelligent human life

Tennant said that an intelligently designed universe cannot be proved, but it is more probable than a universe ruled by blind forces or chance. He said it was not possible ...

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