The Design Argument Scholar: William Paley 1743-1805 Book: Natural Theology God is the designer of the universe Reading p2-12 Specification: Arguments for the existence of God Design Presentation: Paley’s analogical argument. Criticisms: Hume. Students should study the basis of each argument in observation or in thought, the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments, their status as ‘proofs’, their value for religious faith and the relationship between reason and faith. Student notes booklet AO1 Reading: p2-3 Paley’s Analogical Argument: its basis in observation The reasoning used in this argument: Paley’s argument is a posteriori Remember to give examples to explain for more AO1 marks _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Paley’s argument is inductive _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Paley’s argument is based on three particular observations about the world around him: Its complexity Its regularity Its purpose On the basis of these observations, Paley formulated his inductive Design Argument _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Paley’s Analogical Design Argument – Reading p4-6 Paley’s theory is known as the “Analogical design argument”. Analogical = an analogy. What is an analogy? _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ It is an example of natural theology. What is natural theology? _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Paley used the “watchmaker analogy” to show why the world must have a designer Paley’s analogy _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Examples and evidence given by Paley to support his argument _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Essential quote to use from Paley’s ‘Natural Theology’ text in examination answers: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Reading p6-9 Criticisms of Design Arguments from David Hume AO1 AO2 Important note: Hume’s work can be used to criticise Paley, but Hume came first. Key terms Omnipotent ______________________________________________________________________________________ Omnibenevolent _______________________________________________________________________________________ Anthropomorphism _______________________________________________________________________________________ God of Classical Theism _______________________________________________________________________________________ What are Hume’s criticisms? Add some bullet points to these key points from your reading p6-9 Paley hasn’t necessarily proved the existence of the God of Classical Theism _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ The problem of evil _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Analogies between the way the universe works and the way machines work is unsound _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Paley anthropomorphises the universe _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ The universe could have developed by chance _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Essential quote to use from Hume’s ‘Dialogues’ text in examination answers: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Strengths and weaknesses – Reading p9-11 AO2 Make some clear bullet point evaluation points A grade revision tips: - You may want to organize them in the table in a way that shows the strengths and the counterarguments to them Highlight scholars that you use – referring to scholars (eg. Paley, Swinburne) will increase your marks Strengths of Paley’s argument Weaknesses of Paley’s argument Check your strengths notes with this handy checklist: Richard Swinburne argues that a simpler argument which is easier to understand is better – this is called Occam’s razor Philosophically and logically sound Sound empirical basis Meets our need for and our gut feeling that there must be an explanation for the world around us With every new scientific discovery the world seems increasingly complex and this strengthens the argument for a designer God Emphasises the uniqueness of God The assurance that the world has a purpose gives meaning to human life For theists it supports their religious interpretation of the world and demonstrates God’s nature AO2 Grade boosting extra reading You will be asked only on Hume’s criticisms in the AO1, which is the 1st part of any essay on the design question You may refer also if you wish and if it is relevant to other scholars/critics (and the responses to them) in the AO2, which is the second part of the essay. Make a list of clear points from the extra reading to use in evaluation: _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ The status of Paley’s Design Argument as a ‘proof’ – reading p12-13 This section is really asking – has Paley proven God? Yes No What value does Paley’s Design Argument have for religious faith? Reading p15-16 AO2 This section is really asking: Does the Design argument strengthen faith or weaken its position? For many, the only thing that gives us certainty is Fideism What is Fideism? _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Of value Of no value Final useful evaluation points Strengths The argument is a strong inductive argument and simple – Occam’s razor would suggest that the simplest explanations are often the correct ones For religious believers the arguments for the existence of God and in this case the Design Argument may simply support their already existing belief in God. Faith is the starting point of belief; if a person has faith they will accept the design argument as fact. This is called Fideism-An idea that religious beliefs can’t be justified by rational means, only faith. Perhaps combined with other evidence and other arguments for God there could be a cumulative argument which is persuasive Offer a ‘sufficient reason’ Weaknesses The Design argument may point to a ‘designer’ but there is limited evidence that this is the God of Classical theism As an inductive argument at best the argument can offer probability not proof – there may be other conclusions Perhaps thinkers who support the argument can, at best, expect agnostics to lean towards t he idea that there might be a ‘sufficient reason’ for the existence of the universe Leaky Bucket Argument = Some philosophers argue that the different ‘proofs’ for the existe nce of God cannot have cumulative weight as several bad arguments together do not make a so und argument, just as several leaky buckets cannot hold water. May not be reasonable to ask someone without faith to believe in God from this argument
