Transcript Smith’s Invisible Hand

Teleological Argument
Introduction to Philosophy
Jason M. Chang
Lecture Outline
1.
Teleological argument
A.
B.
2.
Objections
A.
B.
3.
Background
Paley’s argument
Hume’s objection
Darwin’s theory
The contemporary debate: three questions
Teleological Argument
Background
•
What a teleological argument is
•
Major features
•
•
William Paley 1743-1805
Definition of telos (τέλος)
Proponents
•
William Paley (1743-1805)
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
•
Stone vs. watch
•
Reason for the different responses
o
Many parts working together
for a purpose
o
Indispensable parts
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
•
Objects in nature
o
Purposefulness
o
Example – the eye
Teleological Argument
“Take the human eye, for example. It is made of
parts that work together in intricate, complicated ways.
The eye has an opening through which light enters,
and there is a mechanism that automatically makes the
opening larger or smaller depending on the amount of
light available. The light then passes through a lens
that focuses it on a sensitive surface, which in turn
translates the patterns into signals that can be
transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve. If
any detail is changed, the whole thing stops working.
Imagine that there was no hole in the front of the
eyeball, or no lens, or no nerve connecting it to the
brain – then everything else would be pointless.”
-James Rachels on the human eye
Teleological Argument
“Every manifestation of design, which
existed in the watch, exists in the works
of nature; with the difference, on the
side of nature, of being greater or
more, and that in a degree which
exceeds all computation.”
Teleological Argument
-Many parts working
together for purpose
-Indispensable parts
“Like effects have like causes”
-Many parts working
together for purpose
-Indispensable parts
Teleological Argument
Paley’s argument
(P1) We rightfully conclude that objects such as watches are made by
intelligent designers because they have parts that work together to serve a
purpose.
(P2) We have the same evidence that the parts of nature were made by an
intelligent designer: the plants, animals, organs, etc. of the natural world
are also composed of parts that work together to serve a purpose.
Therefore,
(C) We are entitled to conclude that the natural world was made by an
intelligent designer.
Objections
Hume’s Objection
Background
•
David Hume (1711-1776)
David Hume (1711-1776)
o
Biography
o
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
(1779)
Hume’s Objection
EFFECT
CAUSE
Hume’s Objection
How do I know that my headache this morning was caused by drinking?
Continuous
observation
Development of belief – Alcohol can cause headaches
Hume’s Objection
How do I know that my headache was caused by drinking?
Me this morning
The point:
Deriving a
cause from an
effect requires
background
knowledge
Background belief – alcohol can cause headaches
Hume’s Objection
How do we know the watch was created by a watchmaker?
Background belief – watchmakers make watches
Hume’s Objection
EFFECT
CAUSE
?
No background knowledge of how universes are created
Hume’s Objection
“And will any man tell me with a serious
[face], that an orderly universe must arise
from some [Intelligence] because we have
experience of it? To ascertain this
reasoning, it were requisite that we had
experience of the origin of worlds…”
Despite Hume’s objections, the question
still arises…
How do we get such biological complexity
and purposefulness in the natural world?
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Background
•
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
o
•
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
Biography
Label “evolution” misleading
Three important ideas in Darwin’s
theory
Darwin’s Theory
Heritability of traits
•
Each individual inherits
characteristics of its
parents
•
An organisms
decedents tend to
resemble it
Darwin’s Theory
Variation
Variations among finches
•
There are variations
between members of
species
•
These variations are due
to genetic mutation
Darwin’s Theory
Due to
mutation,
offspring
have thicker
beaks and
darker
feathers
Darwin’s Theory
Natural selection
•
Those that possess the
traits conducive to
survival in a particular
environment survive
and reproduce
•
Those that do not
possess these traits die
off
Darwin’s Theory
Environment in which primary food
source is nuts
Imagine this process
occurring for
millions upon
millions of years
Darwin’s Theory
• Imagine this process occurring
for millions upon millions
of years
• It makes sense that the finches
today have the “perfectly
designed” attributes to survive
• What appears to be “intelligent
design” can be explained by
millions of years of natural
selection
The contemporary debate:
Three questions
The contemporary debate
•
Can God and evolution coexist?
ABSOLUTELY
The contemporary debate
•
Can Darwin’s theory explain
all biological systems?
“irreducible complexity”
Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box (1996)
The contemporary debate
•
V
S
What content should be
included in a high school
science class?