The Design Argument: Does God Exist

The Design Argument The question of whether God truly exists has been debated between believers and non-believers for centuries. Also known as the Teleological Argument, the Design Argument argued by William Paley states that there are so many intricate details and designs in our world that there must be a creator. In addition, it also argues that this world could not have been created by chance alone due to the characteristics that make it the perfect condition for human life to exist (Pecorino). In this essay, I will be giving a brief overview of what the Design Argument is, then providing evidence and reasoning in favor of the argument, then addressing the criticisms of the argument, then comparing both sides of the argument, then finally

In this case, the designer is most often referred to as God who in Christianity, Catholocism, and other religions is taught as the Creator of our world. In other religions or in other views, it is not specific to a certain god, but rather the idea that there is some being or higher identity that created our world. The Teleological Arugument is William Paley’s argument to prove the existence of God by observing the design and purposefulness of nature (Pecorino). Paley’s Teleogical Argument is quite simple, the premise goes as follows:

“Human artifacts are products of intelligent

Philosopher David Hume’s argument against William Paley’s addresses the most common criticism in why Paley is wrong. Hume’s points out two major flaws in Paley’s argument that there is a creator of the universe. The first argument is the lack of evidence, in which he states that the existence of such a creator can only be proved through the a pattern of observation, which there is no pattern for. This addresses how without any form of pattern through observation that it is difficult to make a correlation between the universe and its designer (Speaks). Secondly he argumes that there are limitations to the design argument that Paley does not address. In this he questions the attributes of God that are traditionally used to describe him. He claims that there is a lack of foundational evidence to prove that God is not only the creator of the universe but is the All Mighty God that he is described as (Speaks). Rather than Hume arguing that Paley’s argument is false, he focuses heavily on if God even exists or if he is the higher figure that he is painted as. Another argument that can be used against Paley is the theory of the Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory is the theory on how the universe came to exsitance. Scientists believe that 13.7 billion years ago that an explosive expansion occurred causing the universe to begin (May & Howell). Paley’s Design Argument goes against this well known theory, which