ipl-logo

The Teleological Argument

392 Words2 Pages

After reading The Teleological Argument, William Paley’s conclusion is straightforward and can be stated in just two words: God exists. His entire argument is based on a watch and is used as a means to prove God’s existence. As simple as a watch may seem, Paley describes its complexity and claims that a higher power had to have created its intelligent design. But how does he know that God designed the watch and a man didn’t? Paley argues that we have never seen a watch been made and that we are all incapable of designing something so unique and intelligent; therefore, we can conclude that something greater than us must have created it. However, before he claims who or what designed the watch, Paley says that we all can agree on at least one

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Argument From Design By William Paley

    784 Words  | 4 Pages

    William Paley was a well known theologian in the 19th century responsible for surmising the existence of “an intelligent creator by design.” His argument, built up to and stated on page 29, Chapter III, paragraph 1 in sentence 1 is as follows: “for every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature”. Before diving into the meaning behind this, there are terms to be defined. By contrivance, Paley means artificiality, or to have been made. A watch, as easy as it is to grasp, is simply the mechanism on your wrist that tells you the time of day.

    Read More

  • George Zimmerman's Final Argument

    384 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have to admit that Zimmerman’s talk was hard at times for me to comprehend. I would love feedback if I understood his divine argument wrong, because I have had a few discussions about it with my peers and many took away different views from his final argument for a divine being, and in this paper I will explain how I understood his final argument. To come upon the divine being of God, he had to eliminate all the other contingent and necessary options believed by other philosophers and scientists through reasoning. He explained how it wasn’t possible for their to be no answer for the cosmos, nor were any of the contingent explanations of science, philosophy, or an infinite past made any sense.

    Read More

  • Aquinas Vs Paley Analysis

    302 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paley argued that things such as a watch is complicated, meaning in order to be functional it has many pieces that are made to fit together and was made for a sole functional purpose, that is to tell time, Unlike Aquinas argued that it must have a maker who created something with intelligence

    Read More

  • The Perimeter Of Ignorance By Neil Degrasse Tyson

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    Huygens said, “suppose nobody will deny but there’s somewhat more of contrivance, somewhat more of a miracle in the production and growth of plants and animals than in lifeless heaps of inanimate bodies … For the finger of God, and the wisdom of divine providence is in them much more clearly manifested than in the other” (Tyson, Eil DeGrasse). Scientist Huygens argument clearly shows that science depends on religion to understand some concepts. It indicates that they believe that God is the creator of the living organisms. Additionally, to understand their existence it means seeking knowledge from the Scripture

    Read More

  • Summary Of Galileo's Letter To Grand-Duchess Christina '

    456 Words  | 2 Pages

    He points out that the Bible cannot be taken literally because sometimes it can be interpreted in different ways. The Bible was written for the common people and illiterate to understand, and to prove his point he mentions that the Bible gives God a body like ours while theologies believe God has no such features. He moves to his main point about who has the authority to determine what is true and untrue. He argues that what is scientifically proven will to understand the Bible true meaning.

    Read More

  • Cosmological Vs Ontological Argument

    1444 Words  | 6 Pages

    There have been an innumerable amount of arguments for the existence of God for hundreds of years. Some have become much more popular due to their merit, and their ability to stay relevant through changing times. Two arguments in particular that have been discussed for a very long time are the ontological and cosmological arguments. Each were proposed in the period of the high middle ages by members of the Roman Catholic Church. They each have been used extensively by many since their introduction.

    Read More

  • Wager's Argument For The Existence Of God

    378 Words  | 2 Pages

    For this disputation, I had the pleasure of arguing against the topic of be it resolved that you can convince a non-believer to affirm the existence of God using philosophical arguments. As the opposing side, Sarah and I counter argued the following: the argument from motion, the ontological argument, Pascal’s Wager, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the moral argument. The argument from motion argues that it is only possible to experience that which exists, and people experience God, therefore God must exist; however it can be counter argued that since faith cannot be demonstrated or experienced, as it is unseen, God cannot exist.

    Read More

  • The Design Argument: Does God Exist

    965 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Descartes And Paley's Argument Analysis

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    He further elaborates on this watch saying that even if you had never seen a watch made or known someone to make it you would still recognize that the watch had a creator. Also the watch at times may go wrong, even if this happens it still does not prove that the watch does not have a creator. Further that the watch has parts whose functions are unknown this still does not determine that the watch does not have a creator. Ultimately what this argument comes down to is that the watch is an analogy for the universe and or human beings. All of these things he attributed to the watch is in like fashion attributed to the universe.

    Read More

  • Thomas Aquinas Cosmological Argument

    1784 Words  | 8 Pages

    The traditional claim of all Cosmological Arguments is defined as “something outside the universe is responsible to explain the existence of the universe” (PowerPoint 380). In the “causal argument,” or the First Cause Argument on the cosmological argument, “something” outside of the universe that is supposed to inform us about the existence of the universe is argued to be explained as God. As the first cause argument goes into depth and with the help of Thomas Aquinas, it is easy to see how God is responsible for explaining the existence of the universe around us. Within the first cause argument on the cosmological argument the following premises and conclusions are discussed: Premise 1: There exists things that are caused. Meaning that

    Read More

  • Darwin's Doubt Summary

    1777 Words  | 8 Pages

    The blind watch maker analogy that was presented is brilliant. Creationists, use their own version of the watchmaker argument saying if you were walking down a beach and you found a watch you could assume there was a designer. But when it comes to talking about existence, physical reality, and life, It’s a little different. The analogy at first glance seems to work but then you realize that even metaphorically speaking it’s an equivocation fallacy.

    Read More

  • Existence Of God Analysis

    1027 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this argument we already assumed that there may be possibility that God exist and finally we reached where we started. So this argument does not give us the exact information about existence of God. There are many objections on this argument but still it is a powerful argument. In my opinion, this argument is not much satisfactory. It describes that existence is greater than imagination.

    Read More

  • Essay On Mechanistic And Teleological Explanations

    743 Words  | 3 Pages

    I argue that while mechanistic and teleological explanations are distinctly different, both are required in order to thoroughly explain a phenomenon. In this essay, I will describe mechanistic, atomistic, and teleological explanations, highlight their key differences, and then explain why one cannot completely understand a phenomenon without incorporating a teleological component. A mechanistic explanation is one that describes “how” a phenomenon (such as breathing, growing, or eating) occurs. It conveys the physiological, or physical, movements and changes involved in that phenomenon.

    Read More

  • Anselm Vs Descartes Ontological Argument

    945 Words  | 4 Pages

    St. Anselm and Descartes are known for presenting the first ontological arguments on the existence of God. The word ontological is a compound word derived from ‘ont’ which means exists or being and ‘–ology’ which means the study of. Even though Anselm and Descartes’ arguments differ slightly, they both stem from the same reasoning. Unlike the other two arguments on God’s existence (teleological and cosmological), the ontological argument does not seek to use any empirical evidence but rather concentrates on pure reason. The rationale behind this school of thought

    Read More

  • Richard Dawkins And John Lennox: Buried God

    1876 Words  | 8 Pages

    Introduction: Professors Richard Dawkins and John Lennox go head to head in a battle to match their superior intellect. The debate was titled “Has Science Buried God?” Lennox also announced his new book “Gods Undertaker”. The John Lennox - Richard Dawkins Debate - bethinking.org. 2015

    Read More

More about The Teleological Argument

Open Document