The Teleological Argument

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Introduction

The existence of God has always been a heavily debated issue. People’s intellect has led them to ask crucial questions such as: Why are we here? Do we have a higher purpose? Often, the quest for these answers leads us to religion and ultimately to a higher power who is God. This further leads to the question of God’s existence. Religion may simply ask us to believe that He exists. However, from a philosophical aspect, the issue calls for deeper thought and the search for proof. It is in this light that philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato developed an argument for God’s existence (Friedman, 2019). This was later on further developed through Stoicism to achieve what is now widely known as the Teleological argument. This argument provides evidence, that indeed, God exists.

 

Thesis: The Intricate design of this world is sufficient proof that God exists.

 

The Teleological Argument

Some philosophers believed that it was the design of the natural world was too deliberate to simply be concluded as a coincidence. The order and detail are too intricate to have been by chance (Holder, 2017). This is the underlying principle behind this argument. For this reason, it is also referred to as the intelligent design argument.

The birth and order of the universe cannot be adequately explained through the big bang theory. The claim by this theory that the universe started off from a big explosion leaves many questions such as: what caused that explosion? What exploded and where did it come from? Even if for a moment we do agree that there was an explosion, these queries still linger. Creation of something out of nothing defies scientific laws (Prigogine & Stengers, 2018). These are questions that have left scientists puzzled. Furthermore, the order in the universe and the consequent emerging of organized solar systems out of an explosion appears far-fetched. The design of the universe including the galaxies made up of the planets and stars is so complex and organized that it must have been the work of a higher power. Given that scientists could not come to terms with this conclusion, they invented the term ‘Dark Matter’

Scientists cannot fathom what holds the universe together. Why do galaxies stick together instead of flying apart? These queries lead to the conclusion that there is something that holds them together, which scientists called Dark Matter (Prigogine & Stengers, 2018). The term ‘dark’ is because this substance cannot be observed or even well understood. This is proof that science with all the advancement is not able to explain everything. It is also evidence of a higher power being involved in the dynamics of this universe.

The earth is placed in the solar system so conveniently as to support our lives. It has been shown that the earth revolves in the habitable zone around the sun (Way et al., 2016). If this were not the case, we would not exist. This is clear from the fact that our closest planets, Venus and Mars cannot sustain life. We are just at the right distance to hold a habitable atmosphere and water that other planets lack. The temperatures are just right that we do not burn or freeze. A lot of money has been spent by governments to try to find similar conditions in other planets; these efforts have so far proved futile (Moderator et al., 2015). Our earth is placed too conveniently to have been by chance hence again supporting the argument that God exists. But, we don’t have to move to the galaxies and outer space to support this argument. The evidence is around us, in our surroundings.

Nature works in a highly organized manner. It is a whole ecosystem that is connected to each other. Evaporation occurs on the oceans, the moisture forms clouds which are moved to the highlands by winds. Upon reaching the highlands, they rain filling rivers and lakes. This rain supports the growth of plants and the plants feed the animals. The rivers return back to the ocean and the cycle continues. Now, I refuse to discard this as a coincidence. It is like a system with parts working together to fulfill a goal with no operator or controller: the origin and design of this system point to a higher intellectual power. This argument is not without critics.

It is not uncommon for some to dispute this argument stemming from the idea that things can happen randomly and by chance. The teleological argument has been attacked as a subjective conclusion that fails to account for all aspects. The critics make their case using the teleological view of watch: that if a watch works so coordinated and beautifully because it has an intelligent designer, so must the world also have its highly intelligent designer (Friedman, 2019). Critics argue that theories such as Darwin’s survival of the fittest introduce a matter of probability to the outcome: that, the design of the world was only an outcome from a set of probabilities (Mossio & Bich, 2017). With this counter-argument, comes the stand that God is not responsible for our design, but rather chance is accountable. I completely differ with such a view.

Even if I choose to entertain the notion of evolution as our designer, it still fails to account for the beauty and complexities of our bodies. If indeed evolution intended for us only to survive, we only need a simple system for finding food and running away from danger. However, this is not the case. The brain is so complex and intelligent in its design and functioning that no computer processor can match its abilities (Hertz, 2018). The nerves and the blood vessels are so well laid out that it’s simply amazing. The coordination between our various body systems is remarkable. A look at how the body protects itself from infections and keeps itself safe is impressive. The number of cells in our bodies number to trillions, which all work together to sustain one organism. This design disputes randomness and probability. Moreover, people from all around the world share in the same beauty and complexity despite their different heritages. They all share in the moral instinct of good and evil (Pinker, 2017). Every society from around the world has a reference to some sort of a higher intellectual power who is also regarded as a creator (Lovejoy, 2017). These facts are sufficient evidence of a grand intellectual designer.

Conclusion

The Intricate design of this world is sufficient proof that God exists. This is in line with the teleological argument. Scientists have failed to account for how the world came to be. The theories they put forward such as the big bang theory are not sufficient and have many unfilled gaps in their explanation. The invention of the Dark matter is an admission of the failure to explain what holds the universe together. The fact that the earth is designed so conveniently as to support life is also indicative of a grand designer. Additionally, life on earth is supported by an ecosystem that works so efficiently and automatically. While some might argue that the world design happened as a matter of probability, it is the complexity of this world and our bodies that completely disputes this counter-argument to show that God exists and that he is our designer.

References

Friedman, J. (2019). Teleological epistemology. Philosophical Studies176(3), 673-691.

Hertz, J. A. (2018). Introduction to the theory of neural computation. CRC Press.

Holder, R. D. (2017). God, the multiverse, and everything: Modern cosmology and the argument from design. Routledge.

Lovejoy, A. (2017). The great chain of being: A study of the history of an idea. Routledge.

Moderator:, Schulze-Makuch, D., Participants:, Rummel, J. D., Benner, S. A., Levin, G., … &

Mossio, M., & Bich, L. (2017). What makes biological organisation teleological?. Synthese194(4), 1089-1114.

Kounaves, S. (2015). Nearly forty years after Viking: Are we ready for a new life-detection mission?. Astrobiology15(6), 413-419.

Pinker, S. (2017). The moral instinct. In Understanding Moral Sentiments (pp. 65-86). Routledge.

Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (2018). Order out of chaos: Man’s new dialogue with nature. Verso Books.

Way, M. J., Del Genio, A. D., Kiang, N. Y., Sohl, L. E., Grinspoon, D. H., Aleinov, I., … & Clune, T. (2016). Was Venus the first habitable world of our solar system?. Geophysical research letters43(16), 8376-8383.

 

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