Teleological Argument

This argument recognizes the fact of life's complexity and beauty. For example, in contrast to the rest of the universe, earth appears to be specifically designed to support life. If it weren’t for several factors working in concert (i.e. specific axial tilt of earth, the distance between the earth and sun, the gravitational effects of the moon, earth’s gravity, etc.) life would not be possible.

There are several teleological argument versions that recognize the elegance of design such as: 1) the "Fifth Way" of St. Thomas Aquinas, 2) the argument from simple analogy, 3) Paley's watchmaker argument, 4) the argument from guided evolution, 5) the argument from irreducible biochemical complexity, 6) the argument from biological information, and 7) the fine-tuning argument.

In its most basic form, the argument appears as follows:

  1. Human artifacts are products of intelligent design.
  2. The universe resembles human artifacts.
  3. Therefore the universe is a product of intelligent design.
  4. But the universe is complex and gigantic, in comparison to human artifacts.
  5. Therfore, there probably is a powerful and vastly intelligent designer who created the universe.

Reference:

1. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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