Design Argument Quiz

Front 1

Where does the word "teleological" come from?

Back 1

The Greek word "telos" meaning order/purpose

Front 2

Define and explain 2 forms of the argument

Back 2

Analogical - Draws links between world's design and objects of human design.

Inductive - Universe has regular motion, who put this in place?

Front 3

Example of regular motion in the universe

Back 3

The Earth orbiting the sun

Front 4

Which Greek philosopher began the design argument and what did he say?

Back 4

Plato - "The human body, with all its intricacies, must owe its origin to a greater being, a God".

Front 5

What Roman thinker had something to say about the design argument?

Back 5

Cicero - "God's existence is clear/obvious when we see the enormity and wonder of the skies".

Front 6

What is a theistic argument?

Back 6

An argument that seeks to prove the God of classical theism.

Front 7

What does the design argument argue?

Back 7

That aspects of the universe are so perfectly adapted to fulfil their function, they display evidence of being deliberately designed. This can only be explained by an intelligent/personal designer - God.

Front 8

What theory does the argument reject in explaining the cause of the universe?

Back 8

Chance/coincidence

Front 9

5 main pieces of evidence that suggest the universe is designed?

Back 9

Order, purpose, benefit, suitability for life, appearance.

Front 10

Describe these pieces of evidence

Back 10

Order - Regularities in behaviour of objects and laws

Purpose - Objects appear to be working towards an end or purpose

Benefit - Orderly structure providing all necessary for life

Suitability - Ideal environment provided

Appearance - Exhibits beauty suggesting more than survival alone

Front 11

Describe Aquinas' Fifth Way: Beneficial Order/Purpose

Back 11

Beneficial order could not have happened by chance. There must be something directing unintelligent beings. This intelligent director is God.

Front 12

An example of purpose/beneficial order

Back 12

Annual migration of vast pods of grey whales across the ocean to breed. These patterns rarely change and the end result is beneficial so something must be directing them - God.

Front 13

What does highly empirical mean?

Back 13

Draws premisis from observation of nature and the world based on our experience.

Front 14

Who came up with the analogy of the watch which forms the analogical form of the argument?

Back 14

William Paley

Front 15

Explain the analogy of the watch

Back 15

Its intricate design suggests purposeful and intelligent designer of it. Serves also as an analogy of the universe suggesting an intelligent designer - God.

Front 16

3 supporters of the design argument

Back 16

Tennant

Swinburne

Behe

Front 17

Swineburne's angle of probability

Back 17

Evidence of design and order increases the probability of the existence of God.

Front 18

Features Swinburne observed that increased the probability of the universe being designed

Back 18

Existence of the universe, fact the universe is ordered, existence of consciousness, opportunities to do good, pattern of history, evidence of miracle, religious experience.

Front 19

Providential nature of the universe

Back 19

It contains everything necessary for survival where humans can develop - suggesting God is the designer.

Front 20

Tennant's aesthetic principle

Back 20

The universe possesses natural beauty that goes beyond what is necessary to live which shows the handicraft of God such as the changing colours of the seasons.

Front 21

Tennant's anthropic principle

Back 21

Reason and purpose of the universe is to support human life suggesting it is designed.

Front 22

Intelligent design

Back 22

Feature of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not by an undirected process such as natural selection.

Front 23

Irreducible complexity

Back 23

Proposed by Behe. Universe contains biological processes that are so complex, they cannot be broken down into smaller functioning systems as they stop working. They're designed perfectly so a designer must be involved - God.

Front 24

Critics of the design argument

Back 24

Mill, Hume, Dawkins, Darwin

Front 25

How many criticisms did Hume have?

Back 25

5

Front 26

Hume's criticisms

Back 26

Analogy of the watch is unsound as we have no experience of God designing the universe.

Why one God and not many? They may have moved on to bigger and better things.

Bad design - suffering.

The world is natural so more likely to have grown of its own accord.

The world appears ordered because of the way our mind organises our experiences but it isn't.

Front 27

Dawkin's "Notion Of Purpose"

Back 27

Challenges the assumption that the universe has a purpose. It's a human conceit - we assume there is purpose but there is none.

Front 28

Dawkin's opinion on natural selection

Back 28

Natural selection has no purpose in mind - it is the "blind watchmaker".

Front 29

Mill's dysteleological argument

Back 29

Absence of order or poor design in the universe.

Front 30

Examples of poor design

Back 30

Pointless existence of the appendix in humans, pointless existence of wings in flightless birds, genes of DNA that serve no purpose, genetic disorders such as cystic fribrosis.

Front 31

What does Darwin's theory of evolution do to the design argument and how?

Back 31

It destroyed the concept of design as the work of God. It could answer all questions and removed the concept of the mystery of life and origins.