How persuasive are the design arguments - Essay Example

? How persuasive are the design arguments? Introduction People always wanted to know much about the origin of humanity. This issue has always been mysterious for us and it really seems that nature that allowed us to touch upon its secrets, would like to hide the truth from humans. However, there are people, who dared to try to find out the truth. They are famous philosophers, who played an important role in the life of all of us. The philosophers devoted their lives to science in order to create the arguments, which attempt to explain the origin of humanity. The argument from design was widely discussed and serves as a foundation of the modern science. The given paper will make an overview of the arguments and come to corresponding conclusion. William Paley in his book Natural Theology (1802) paralleled between the living things intricacy and subordinate intricacy of a surveillance that was created by an intelligent creature, as it was known. This version is considered to be classic. Taking into account the reasoning from design, or teleological argument, the design that was discovered in the universe gave reason to talk about subsistence of the intelligent creator that is usually depicted as God. Paley underlined in his works that a watch could not become possible without the creator of this watch, thus it became clear that living creatures had no opportunity to exist without an intelligent creator. There is a version that living things are the offspring of intelligent design. It could be concluded that watches refer to the intelligent design, thus living creatures have similarity with them. The living things are “equipped” with the eyes, the main tools of gathering the information. Paley states: “[S]uppose I found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place, I should hardly think … that, for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there. Yet why should not this answer serve for the watch as well as for [a] stone [that happened to be lying on the ground” (Paley, 1809. p.1). The idea of Paley is based generally on biological aspect and its intricacy. This version was seriously considered, when Mr. Darwin presented his famous evolution theory based on the natural selection in 1859. Darwin in this way explained how livings creatures, which are intelligent, could adapt in a perfect way to their environment, even if they were not so intelligent. By this statement Darwin doubted the Paley’s idea about the biological base of argument to design to a considerable degree. The 20th century gave birth to another argument that was connected to the cosmology. This argument is also called fine-tuning argument. It states that it is possible to explain the life on the planet by the different independent natural processes, but the fact that the universe gave chance for the life existing on the privilege position, confirmed the presence of the intelligent creator. For example, you should understand that for life as it exists now at the earth many incipient conditions and values as well as physical constants are necessary. If these conditions do not operate in appropriate way or make some tiny error, life will be just impossible in our universe. This statement represents the additional proof of theory of the existence of some intelligent creature that made all conditions, values and constants work on life creation. Hurben and Drange claimed that the denomination of the different physical constants could be combined only with the possible found denomination. In this argument to design other possible combinations could not exist. In this case Carrier and Drange also claimed that such characteristic as fine-tuning could be concerned as illusion, in the light of what was stated above. In the book called Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume you can find critics to this theory. Norman Smith underlined that Hume’s criticism was not only pernicious but also complete. This point of view was accepted by many scientists. Someone claims that it refers only to the analogical side of problem. The criticism of the Hume is based generally on the analogy items concerning traditional argument of design. Hume states: “Look round the world: contemplate the whole and every part of it: You will find it to be nothing but one great-machine, subdivided into an infinite number of lesser machines, which again admit of subdivisions to a degree beyond what human senses and faculties can trace and explain. All these various machines, and even their most minute parts, are adjusted to each other with an accuracy, which ravishes into admiration all men who have ever contemplated them. The curious adapting of means to ends, throughout all nature, resembles exactly, though it much exceeds, the productions of human contrivance; of human design, thought, wisdom, and intelligence” (Hume, 1779, p.47). The weak side of this theory is that analogy is not strong enough to gain the desired success. The argument will become stronger, if universe is compared with the artifact and it will become weaker, if the universe is incomparable with the artifact. He also underlined the existence of differences and disanalogies that influenced the argument badly. Conclusion The argument from design rejects the existence of the almighty human-like God. This theory claims that the despite that fact that creation of the universe was finished long time ago, it could be obliged by the other forces to accept God. It is important to remember that according to the standard argument of design, the designer should think like a human being. However, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Humans do not have god-like mind as the same time as God can’t think like humans. We cannot make a final conclusion about the role of human mind in the creation of the Earth and everything on it, the arguments are still suppositions, but they play an essential role in the development of the modern science. References Hume, David (1779). Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (The Second ed.). London: s.n. pp. 47–48. Paley, William. (2006) [1809]. Natural Theology, with an introduction and notes by Matthew Daniel Eddy and David M. Knight, Oxford University Press. Read More