Though society admires the idea of freedom, it has its limits. Throughout history, humankind has taken comfort in believing that there is a great force ultimately controlling us. This idea helps up trust everything that happens has a purpose, even if we can’t understand it. Robert Frost highlights this side of freedom throughout his poem Design. In Design, Frost argues that there are situations or circumstances that are simply too coincidental for some greater being not to be designing it. William Paley, an English philosopher, had a similar idea. He trusted that the world we live in resembles machines that are too complex, and thus must have been created by some great intelligent designer. He called this intelligent designer God. And just
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First, machines have intelligent designers as their cause. In other words, machines weren’t simply placed on this planet, rather they were created by some intelligent being. And, when we study these machines, we “perceive that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose” (Paley, 47). For instance, just as each part of a stapler helps it function, each word of Frost’s poem has an important role in contributing to the meaning of the literature. Towards the end of the poem, Frost asks “what has that flower to do with being white, the wayside blue and innocent heal-all?” (Frost, 9-10). By describing the flower as “innocent,” Frost implies that the flower had no power in deciding what color it is. Here, by using the word “innocent” Frost brings up a question: if the flower didn’t make itself white, than who or what did? To answer this question, one must look to the rest of Paley’s argument. He claims that our society parallels these machines, though society is far greater than the machines. So, just as every word played a role in creating the poem, each part makes the stapler function, and each person plays a role in society. Third, like effects imply like causes. And if Paley’s argument is thus far true, then we can claim that the world, much like these machines, must have been caused by an intelligent designer who resembles human designers but is again, far greater. This designer, Paley called
First, machines have intelligent designers as their cause. In other words, machines weren’t simply placed on this planet, rather they were created by some intelligent being. And, when we study these machines, we “perceive that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose” (Paley, 47). For instance, just as each part of a stapler helps it function, each word of Frost’s poem has an important role in contributing to the meaning of the literature. Towards the end of the poem, Frost asks “what has that flower to do with being white, the wayside blue and innocent heal-all?” (Frost, 9-10). By describing the flower as “innocent,” Frost implies that the flower had no power in deciding what color it is. Here, by using the word “innocent” Frost brings up a question: if the flower didn’t make itself white, than who or what did? To answer this question, one must look to the rest of Paley’s argument. He claims that our society parallels these machines, though society is far greater than the machines. So, just as every word played a role in creating the poem, each part makes the stapler function, and each person plays a role in society. Third, like effects imply like causes. And if Paley’s argument is thus far true, then we can claim that the world, much like these machines, must have been caused by an intelligent designer who resembles human designers but is again, far greater. This designer, Paley called