Paley’s Teleological Argument William Paley’s teleological argument is the concept of how an object such as a stone can exist simply because it has been in one spot forever when you can’t say the same thing about a mechanical device such as a watch. Paley’s conclusion to this argument is that he believes an object or device‚ or in his example the watch‚ is created for a specific function or purpose‚ regardless of if it works properly‚ is defective or whether we understand how or why it was created
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Melissa Watchorn November 4‚ 2011 The Teleological Argument and its Not-so-logical Form. The teleological argument attempts to prove in its form that there is an ultimate design and therefore ultimate designer of the universe. It attempts to tell us that‚ since the universe shows some form of design (a butterfly’s wings‚ a human eye‚ etc)‚ there must be some sort of intelligent designer behind it all. The argument from design is as follows: “Watches‚ houses‚ ships‚ machines and so on all
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The Ontological Argument itself was proposed by Saint Anselm‚ who was the Archbishop of Canterbury. This argument was proposed in order to prove the existence of God‚ and since its creation has caused quite a bit of controversy. This argument is also known as a reduction ad absurdum‚ known more colloquially as “reduces to absurdity”‚ of Atheism as it draws a deep comparison between two beings where one only exists in understanding while the other exactly similar being exists in reality. This is one
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weaknesses of ontological argument The Ontological Argument was‚ and still is‚ a hot-topic for debate among philosophers; many famous philosophers have published criticisms of the theory including Immanuel Kant and St. Thomas Aquinas. This obviously raises questions regarding whether or not this argument works. While there is no clear-cut answer to these questions‚ I personally believe that the negatives of this argument outweigh the positives‚ thereby making it a weak argument. The first published
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There are many different arguments which attempt to help us understand more about the existence of God. One of these arguments is the Cosmological Argument which is essentially a theory which consists of 8 main points‚ but this essay will highlight the origins of the argument‚ the developments by Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas and some criticisms by David Hume and Immanuel Kant and coming to a conclusion of how successfully the Cosmological Argument proves the existence of God. The first form of
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experienced throughout our lives; every effect ever made has had a cause. Aquinas used the laws of Motion and Design to demonstrate how every action must have a correlating reaction‚ and related this to his argument for God being the first cause – the uncaused causer. This is laid out in the Cosmological Argument‚ taken directly from the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry; 1. Things Exist 2. It is possible for those things not to exist. 3. Whatever has the possibility of non existence‚ yet exists
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Paley utilized the “argument by analogy” approach and compared a watch and an eye as an example to argue for the existence of an intelligent‚ higher being as a designer. Paley’s argument is that a watch is made by a designer. A watch and an eye are both complex and well ordered‚ thus concluding that an eye is made by a designer. There is a distinction between the two designers‚ as the designer of the watch is human and the designer of the eye is a higher being. In this argument‚ a watch is used
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had tackled the different arguments that were made by different philosophers which concerns about the existence of God. Its aim is to deepen our understanding of certain religious concepts and beliefs as it tries to critically analyze and examine through the method of philosophical inquiry. Philosophy of religion does not simply study what we believe but more significantly‚ subject these beliefs to rigorous rational criticism and assessment. Anselm’s Ontological Argument is an ideal of a purely analytic
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types of arguments that speak about the existence of God. One of the most fascinating arguments for the existence of a completely perfect God is Anselm’s ontological argument for the existence of God. It is indeed adequate for establishing the necessary existence of the Greatest Conceivable Being. Although there are several different versions of the argument‚ all pretend to show that it is contradictory to deny that there is a greater possible being. Therefore‚ in this general line of argument‚ it is
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Clarke begins his argument by asserting the obvious--that based on experience‚ all of the beings that surround us today do exist. These beings‚ encountered based on one’s experience‚ are dependent on a prior cause. In other words‚ everything that exists must have been caused by something else that also exists or has existed; and for something finite to exist today‚ such as any being in this world‚ it would mean that there must have been something that has existed since infinity. According to Clarke
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