What are the strengths and weaknesses of the design argument for the existence of God? (28 marks)

This argument is also called the teleological argument, it argues that the universe did not come around by mere chance, but some one or something designed it. This thing was God. This argument is a posteriori because the observation of the natural world is taken into the mind to conclude that there is a designer. The belief that the universe was designed by God was triggered by things like the four seasons; summer, spring, autumn and winter, which change through the year. The adaption of the human body and the structure of earth's natural things. All of this had to of been designed to make the universe come into order, have a purpose and regularity. The world is so complex and in order, God is believed to have so much power that he has to be the most probable designer of the universe. Such natural things such as trees, grass and flowers are each individual.

William Paley argued for the existence of God by reasoning that the world shows such complex structure that it must have been designed. He used analogy to compare the universe to a man made structure such as a watch. He argues that if we were to find a watch on the ground, we would naturally infer that it had not come into being by chance; rather that it had been designed for a purpose. He also argues that regularity in the universe also shows that the world must have been designed for example, Newton's laws of motion and gravity alone show there is design in the universe that did not come about by chance.
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Paley's argument has both its strengths and its weaknesses. It appears to be a logical argument and most people would agree that if they were to come across a watch they would assume it had a designer. It is therefore easy to follow the argument and agree with its conclusion, that there is a God. By using the analogy of a watch, we can see more clearly the point that is being made; that as like effects have like causes, it is reasonable to assume that an intricately designed object such as a watch has a designer, and ...

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