Philosophical Argument In The Poem Design
There is an observable connection between the poem “Design” by Robert Frost and the philosophical argument proposed by Gottfried Leibniz in God, Evil, and the Best of All Possible Worlds revolving around the conception and intentions of God. There is also a slim connection with William Paley’s, Natural Theology. The poem draws from both pieces in attempting to justify how God plays a role in the creation of nature and the realm around humanity. The poem is structured to allow both arguments to flow subsequently. Frost attempts to make the reader query the design of the world as well as the intentions and considerations that were formed during the creation of the world, which nonetheless joins the two philosophical arguments together. Concentrating on the first philosophical argument the poem attempts to illuminate, simulates the questions: Why are we here? Were we made this way? This is reflected from the New Design
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Argument, which states that the world had to be designed in a particular and precise way for evolution to be satisfied and thus, must have had an Intelligent Designer. This is a minuscule argument, but conversely significant enough to discuss. In the poem Frost states, “What has that flower to do with being white…what brought the spider to that height, then steered the white moth thither in the night?” (Lines 9-12). This scene spurs the reader to wonder about their existence. Why is the flower white? Why was the spider drawn to that particular flower? What made the moth fly to that spider at that particular time? Frost concludes that if it was God’s design that brought these three elements together, then there must have been some evil in his creation since it is not a heartening thought that God exerted himself to ensure the moth was eaten—which draws from the argument from evil. In the argument from evil, Leibniz states, “the best plan is not always that which seeks to avoid evil, since it may happen that the evil is accompanied by a greater good” (89). In the poem, Frost depicts the existence of the moth, flower, and spider as “Assorted characters of death and blight, mixed ready to begin the morning right, like the ingredients of a witch’s broth—” (Lines 4-6). In essence, he is saying that although the beautiful flower holds up the moth, there is nothing that will impede evil in nature, the spider, from consuming the moth. With the culmination of the “ingredients” that were put into the “witch’s broth” is a metaphor for denoting the argument that evil is everywhere; and in an even broader meaning humanity is as unprotected as the moth from the incessant darkness in the world. By bringing the two philosophical arguments and the poem together, it permits the reader to gain a meaningful significance from the piece and in turn gain a more profound understanding of the philosophy that underlies the work.
The question the poem emphasizes is one in which why evil has to be a dark horse in this world as well as in what way simple things came to be. According to Leibniz, if all God was concerned about was to create no evil and suffering, the easiest mechanism would have been to design no world at all. In order to produce good, you need evil. In Natural Theology, “The Design Argument” was challenged by Darwinism, which disputed the evidence that we were created for the environment, but stated that we adapted to the environment. It was deemed, “survival of the fittest,” which can be applied to the poem. In nature, the fittest will survive—in Frost’s case, the spider survived over the moth. The white spider and the moth are a symbol for the faultlessness of God’s creation and the evil that has entered it by natural
selection. In conclusion, Frost presents the question of whether these notions and the characters affected by them are unified through “design” by an Intelligent Designer or are merely a coincidence, which gives the crucial tension of the poem; however, he offers no resolution. Design seems to be Frost’s early solution to his own questions due to the structure of the poem itself. The words “brought” (line 11) and “steered” (line12)
Argument, which states that the world had to be designed in a particular and precise way for evolution to be satisfied and thus, must have had an Intelligent Designer. This is a minuscule argument, but conversely significant enough to discuss. In the poem Frost states, “What has that flower to do with being white…what brought the spider to that height, then steered the white moth thither in the night?” (Lines 9-12). This scene spurs the reader to wonder about their existence. Why is the flower white? Why was the spider drawn to that particular flower? What made the moth fly to that spider at that particular time? Frost concludes that if it was God’s design that brought these three elements together, then there must have been some evil in his creation since it is not a heartening thought that God exerted himself to ensure the moth was eaten—which draws from the argument from evil. In the argument from evil, Leibniz states, “the best plan is not always that which seeks to avoid evil, since it may happen that the evil is accompanied by a greater good” (89). In the poem, Frost depicts the existence of the moth, flower, and spider as “Assorted characters of death and blight, mixed ready to begin the morning right, like the ingredients of a witch’s broth—” (Lines 4-6). In essence, he is saying that although the beautiful flower holds up the moth, there is nothing that will impede evil in nature, the spider, from consuming the moth. With the culmination of the “ingredients” that were put into the “witch’s broth” is a metaphor for denoting the argument that evil is everywhere; and in an even broader meaning humanity is as unprotected as the moth from the incessant darkness in the world. By bringing the two philosophical arguments and the poem together, it permits the reader to gain a meaningful significance from the piece and in turn gain a more profound understanding of the philosophy that underlies the work.
The question the poem emphasizes is one in which why evil has to be a dark horse in this world as well as in what way simple things came to be. According to Leibniz, if all God was concerned about was to create no evil and suffering, the easiest mechanism would have been to design no world at all. In order to produce good, you need evil. In Natural Theology, “The Design Argument” was challenged by Darwinism, which disputed the evidence that we were created for the environment, but stated that we adapted to the environment. It was deemed, “survival of the fittest,” which can be applied to the poem. In nature, the fittest will survive—in Frost’s case, the spider survived over the moth. The white spider and the moth are a symbol for the faultlessness of God’s creation and the evil that has entered it by natural
selection. In conclusion, Frost presents the question of whether these notions and the characters affected by them are unified through “design” by an Intelligent Designer or are merely a coincidence, which gives the crucial tension of the poem; however, he offers no resolution. Design seems to be Frost’s early solution to his own questions due to the structure of the poem itself. The words “brought” (line 11) and “steered” (line12)