Teleological Argument
Teleological Argument
Does God really exist? What is the cause of his existence? If he does not exist, what is the cause of the existence of the universe? Better still, does the order in the universe suffice to conclude that God exits? These are some of the questions, which float on the floor whenever there is a debate on the existence of God. Among these are teleological arguments, which base the existence of God on the design and order of the universe. They are also called arguments to design.
Teleological argument is derived from a Greek word, ‘telos’ which means purpose or end. Thus, these arguments speak about the existence of the universe based on some end or purpose. It is therefore to conclude that the universe must have been created by an intelligent being, making it ordered for the sake of accomplishing a certain purpose. This annuls the opinion that the universe may have com into existence by chance. According to history, St Thomas Aquinas used this argument as one of his ways of determining the existence of God. However, the argument of William Paley is most cited one. On his part, Paley compared the universe to a watch, which has many ordered parts that work together harmoniously to achieve a particular purpose. Just as the order, complexity and purpose of the watch, which implies the existence of an intelligence being its development, so is the order, complexity and purpose of the universe. Beside this universal order and design, there is an intelligent being called God. This argument however, is from an analogy.
However, with time, modern positions slightly differ from teleological stance held by Paley. For Paley, his order and complexity was inclined towards biological systems like animas or the eye. On the other hand, today’s teleological arguments put weight on physics. Their focal point is always on fine-tuning, which exists in the universe. According to these theorists, the universe exists in a fine-tuned state to support life to the fullest. The greatest advantage of this argument is that it less prone to attacks from public attacks stemming from the evolution theory as compared to Paley’s argument. The modern teleological argument also rejects Paley’s opinion that evolution is enough to explain the existence of biological designs.
Like many other arguments in the world, there are proponents of teleological arguments, which are sometimes called arguments from design. In his opposition to the argument, Antony Flew referred to the argument the argument to the design. Even though Flew is no longer the hardliner in critiquing the teleological argument, he still critics the common name, holding that it reads, “argument to.”
The basis of the teleological argument is the fact that the existence of a universal design is enough to prove then existence of a supreme God. This is by far better in explaining God’s existence compared to evolution theory. It can be compare to something being carried, which must have the carrier and a design, which must have a designer. However, those who oppose the argument question whether the order and complexity that is present in the universe is amounts to design.
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Retrieved from:
http://carm.org/teleological-argument
http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/theistic-proofs/the-teleological-argument/