Introduction to Philosophy: The Teleological Argument Examination

This paper examines the teleological argument, a philosophical argument positing the existence of God based on the order and design observed in the universe. The paper begins by outlining the core of the argument, which asserts that the complexity and perfect order of the world, as seen in biological systems and physics, imply an intelligent designer. The paper then discusses William Paley's analogy of the watch, where the intricate design of the watch implies a watchmaker, similarly, the design of the universe implies a divine creator. The paper also explores modern teleological arguments that focus on the fine-tuning of the universe to support life, such as the presence of oxygen, water, and sunlight. The paper acknowledges criticisms of the teleological argument, including arguments based on natural selection and evolution. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the existence of a designer is a logical inference from the designed nature of the universe.

Running head: THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
The Teleological Argument
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The Teleological Argument
The teleological argument uses the order that exists in the universe as a proof of the
existence of God. The world has a unique design where every thing is in place to support life.
The proposers of the teleological argument such as William Paley argue that for such a
perfect order to exist, there must be an intelligent designer behind this work. This designer
must have supernatural abilities. Therefore, God exists. In light of this argument, it is true to
conclude that there must be a designer who is behind the work of creation of a self-sufficient
world. The teleological argument is one the best theories to explain the existence of God.
Paley compared the world to a watch. A watch has so many parts that are all working
together to execute some work/ purpose. The designer of the watch had in mind what they
wanted to create. They wanted an implement that will help people know what time it is.
Looking at the world, there are so many unique designs that exist. Paley mainly used the
biological systems such as the eye (Philosophy of Religion, 2018). The eye is a complex
organ that is very essential for the wellbeing of an individual. The other parts of the body are
also very useful for proper functioning of a human being. Looking at other beings, they are
also created in a complex way to help them survive in the world. The question that one asks
themselves is who the creator of such complex and perfect systems is. The person/ being
cannot be a human being, for people cannot design themselves. Therefore, there must be a
supernatural being who designed the world and its systems.
Modern teleological arguments are a bit different from the argument of Paley. While
Paley used the complex biological systems to explain the existence of God, modern
arguments mainly focus on physics. The world is made is such a way that it has everything
that it needs to support life (Teleological Arguments for God's Existence, 2018). Some
examples of these are oxygen, water and sunlight. The systems are so perfect that one can say

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of the universe as one that is fine-tuned to support life. Every design has a designer. The
designer of such a world must be a supernatural being. Therefore, God exists.
There are some critics of the teleological argument. They argue that thinking of the
world as having a supernatural designer is misleading and false. These base their argument on
mainly on nature and the theory of evolution. The argument they put across is that nature has
unique capabilities of structuring itself to meet the needs of those in it. They also use the
evolution theory. Here the argument is that the occupants of the universe continually evolve
to fit in to the environment that they find themselves in. These arguments can be regarded as
simply linguistics truth since there is no concrete proof of their authenticity. When we say
that something is carried, then there must be a carrier. We can therefore conclude that
anything that is designed must have a designer. Therefore, there exists a supernatural being
who designed the universe.

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References
Philosophy of Religion (2018). Retrieved from http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/theistic-
proofs/the-teleological-argument/
Teleological Arguments for God's Existence (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy). (2018).
Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/teleological-arguments/