ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Philosophy of Religion (booklet) The Teleological Argument “The curious adapting of means to ends, throughout all nature, resembles exactly, though it much exceeds, the productions of human contrivance; of human design, thought, wisdom, and intelligence.

Since therefore the effects resemble each other, we are led to infer, by all the rules of analogy, that the causes also resemble; and that the Author of nature is somewhat similar to the mind of man.” [Spoken by Cleanthes in David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Part II.] Teleological arguments are arguments from the order in the universe to the existence of God. Their name is derived from the Greek word, “telos”, meaning “end” or “purpose”.

When such arguments speak of the universe being ordered, they mean that it is ordered towards some end or purpose. The suggestion is that it is more plausible to suppose that the universe is so because it was created by an intelligent being in order to accomplish that purpose than it is to suppose that it is this way by chance. The classical statement of the teleological argument is that of William Paley.

Paley likened the universe to a watch, with many ordered parts working in harmony to further some purpose. The argument as he constructed it is thus an argument from analogy. Modern teleological arguments look somewhat different to that constructed by Paley. Modern teleological arguments focus on the “fine-tuning” in the universe. Whether they are successful is therefore a question distinct from the question as to whether Paley’s argument is successful.

📌The two types of teleological argument therefore require investigation separately. Although teleological arguments are often referred to as “arguments from design”, those who oppose such arguments sometimes take offence at this. Noted sceptic Anthony Flew, in particular, has criticised this name. Flew grants that if the universe contains design then there must be some intelligent agent that designed it.

This appears to be a simple linguistic truth, on a par with the truth that if something is being carried then there must be something else that is carrying it. What Flew disputes, and what he takes to be the centre of the discussion concerning the teleological argument, is whether the universe does indeed contain design.

✦ ✦ ✦