Teleological Argument Introduction to Philosophy Jason M. Chang.
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Transcript of Teleological Argument Introduction to Philosophy Jason M. Chang.
Lecture Outline
1. Teleological argumentA. BackgroundB. Paley’s argument
2. ObjectionsA. Hume’s objectionB. Darwin’s theory
3. The contemporary debate: three questions
Teleological Argument
Background
• What a teleological argument is
• Major features
• Definition of telos (τέλος)
• Proponents
• William Paley (1743-1805)
William Paley 1743-1805
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
• Stone vs. watch
• Reason for the different responses
o Many parts working together for a purpose
o Indispensable parts
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
• Objects in nature
o Purposefulness
o Example – the eye
Teleological Argument
“Take the human eye, for example. It is made of parts that work together in intricate, complicated ways. The eye has an opening through which light enters, and there is a mechanism that automatically makes the opening larger or smaller depending on the amount of light available. The light then passes through a lens that focuses it on a sensitive surface, which in turn translates the patterns into signals that can be transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve. If any detail is changed, the whole thing stops working. Imagine that there was no hole in the front of the eyeball, or no lens, or no nerve connecting it to the brain – then everything else would be pointless.”
-James Rachels on the human eye
Teleological Argument
“Every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature; with the difference, on the side of nature, of being greater or more, and that in a degree which exceeds all computation.”
Teleological Argument
-Many parts working together for purpose
-Indispensable parts
“Like effects have like causes”
-Many parts working together for purpose
-Indispensable parts
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
(P1) We rightfully conclude that objects such as watches are made by intelligent designers because they have parts that work together to serve a purpose.
(P2) We have the same evidence that the parts of nature
were made by an intelligent designer: the plants, animals, organs, etc. of the natural world are also composed of parts that work together to serve a purpose.
Therefore, (C) We are entitled to conclude that the natural world was
made by an intelligent designer.
Hume’s Objection
Background
• David Hume (1711-1776)
o Biography
o Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)
David Hume (1711-1776)
Hume’s Objection
How do I know that my headache this morning was caused by drinking?
Development of belief – Alcohol can cause headaches
Continuous observation
Hume’s Objection
How do I know that my headache was caused by drinking?
Me this morning
Background belief – alcohol can cause headaches
The point: Deriving a cause from an effect requires background knowledge
Hume’s Objection
How do we know the watch was created by a watchmaker?
Background belief – watchmakers make watches
Hume’s Objection
“And will any man tell me with a serious [face], that an orderly universe must arise from some [Intelligence] because we have experience of it? To ascertain this reasoning, it were requisite that we had experience of the origin of worlds…”
Despite Hume’s objections, the question still arises…
How do we get such biological complexity and purposefulness in the natural world?
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Background
• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
o Biography
• Label “evolution” misleading
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Darwin’s Theory
Heritability of traits
• Each individual inherits characteristics of its parents
• An organisms decedents tend to resemble it
Darwin’s Theory
Variation
• There are variations between members of species
• These variations are due to genetic mutation
Variations among finches
Darwin’s Theory
Natural selection
• Those that possess the traits conducive to survival in a particular environment survive and reproduce
• Those that do not possess these traits die off
Darwin’s Theory
Environment in which primary food source is nuts
Imagine this process
occurring for millions upon
millions of years
Darwin’s Theory
• Imagine this process occurring for millions upon millions of years
• It makes sense that the finches today have the “perfectly designed” attributes to survive
• What appears to be “intelligent design” can be explained by millions of years of natural selection
The contemporary debate
• Can Darwin’s theory explain all biological systems?
“irreducible complexity”
Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box (1996)