by Dr. Phil Fernandes
A chapter from his doctoral dissertation
© 1997, Institute of Biblical Defense, All
Rights Reserved
Since the ontological argument appears to have failed in its attempt to prove God's existence through reason alone, Christian apologists must start with the "facts" of experience and argue to God's existence. The ontological argument tried to prove God's existence a priori (prior to and apart from experience).1 It sought to establish God's existence as definitionally true. Rather than trying to deduce God's existence with logical necessity, defenders of the faith should argue inductively. Apologists must argue a posteriori (from the particulars of experience to God's existence).2 Thus, they must aim for conclusions that are probable, though not rationally inescapable.
Inductive arguments argue from particulars to the whole.3 They, unlike deductive arguments (which argue from the whole to the particular), do not bring conclusions which are logically necessary. Inductive arguments, at best, only bring conclusions which have a high degree of probability.4 But this is no cause for alarm since almost all of man's knowledge, if not all he knows, is based on probability.5 The ontological argument (the only deductive argument for God's existence) has apparently failed. Therefore, Christian thinkers should argue inductively for God's existence.
Three of the best known inductive arguments for God's existence are the teleological, the moral, and the cosmological. This chapter will discuss the teleological argument, also known as the argument from design.6
ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS
The teleological argument may be the oldest argument for God's existence.7 Many ancient Greek philosophers reasoned that the the order in the universe could only be accounted for by the workings of an intelligent mind.8 Plato agreed. He referred to God as the Demiurge, which means "hard worker."9 Still, Plato's Demiurge differs from the God of the Bible. For the Demiurge designed the cosmos out of preexisting chaotic matter.10 The Demiurge is the designer of the universe, but not the Creator (as He is in Christianity). Plato's student Aristotle also argued for the existence of a divine Being due to the design in the universe.11
THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)
Thomas Aquinas, the great Christian theologian and philosopher of the thirteenth century, is famous for his five ways to prove God's existence.12 In Aquinas' fifth way to prove God's existence, he argued that some things in nature work towards certain goals despite the fact that they have no knowledge.13 But things without knowledge do not move towards a goal unless guided by something which has knowledge. Aquinas reasoned that just as an arrow requires an archer, so too everything in nature is guided towards its goal by someone with knowledge (God).14
WILLIAM PALEY (1743-1805)
William Paley is famous for his "watch-maker argument."15 This is probably the best known teleological argument. Paley stated that if a person who had never seen a watch before was to find one in the wilderness, he would conclude that it is a product of intelligent design. 16 He would see that its several parts were put together for the purpose of producing motion. This motion is so well regulated that it is able to mark the time of the day with precision.17 The person would see that if there were any small variation in the shape, size, or position of the many parts of the watch, there would either be no motion at all or motion that would not serve the purpose of keeping time.18 The person would conclude that the watch must have a maker.19
Paley then looked at nature and saw evidence of design similar to that of the watch, but to a greater degree.20 He reasoned that there must be an intelligent Designer of the universe.
Paley's argument is thought to have been refuted by David Hume, but, this does not appear to be the case. Paley wrote his argument thirty years after Hume's supposed refutation was published. 21 The watch-maker argument is not vulnerable to the majority of Hume's criticisms.22
HUME'S CRITICISMS OF THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
David Hume (1711-1776) raised objections against the teleological argument for God's existence in his work Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Several of his objections will be mentioned here. First, Hume reasoned that the Designer of the universe would not have to be infinite. Since the universe is finite, its Designer needs only to be finite. 23 However, if Hume was right and the Designer is only finite, then this Designer would also need a Designer. Eventually one would have to arrive at an infinite Designer. Otherwise, there would be no explanation for the design in the universe. For an infinite regress of designers is impossible (this point will be established in the chapter on the cosmological argument).
Second, Hume speculated that since there is evil in the world, one would be justified in assuming that the Designer of the world is Himself evil.24 The Christian could here argue that evil exists merely as a privation of that which is good.25 Hence, for a being to be totally evil, it would have to be non-existent.26 Therefore, it would be impossible for there to exist an infinite evil being.
Third, Hume reasoned that since ships are designed by multiple designers, the universe may have been designed by multiple designers.27 Proponents of the teleological argument respond to this criticism by simply emphasizing the unity found in the universe. For it is more probable that the this unity is caused by one Designer rather than several designers.28
There is evidence that Hume himself did not find these and other objections to the teleological argument unanswerable. The closing paragraph of Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion implies that he found the teleological argument to be more probable than the objections he raised.29 Hume's point seems to be that the case for Christianity based upon the teleological argument does not have a rationally certain conclusion.30 Still, he does express respect for this argument.
MODERN SCIENCE AND THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT
It should also be noted that recent advances in modern science have strengthened the teleological argument.31 Science has uncovered that the highly complex information found in the genetic code of living organisms is similar to that of human language. Since human language is known to have been produced by intelligence, it is reasonable to conclude that living organisms were themselves produced by an intelligent Being.32
CONCLUSION
Defenders of the faith need to recognize that the case for Christian theism does not rest solely on the teleological argument.33 Rather, a combination of other arguments with the teleological argument strengthens the case for Christianity.34 In fact, the objections to the teleological argument can be easily bypassed by utilizing the cosmological argument at the outset to prove the existence of one uncaused Cause of all else that exists.35 Then the teleological argument can be used to show that this uncaused Cause must also be an intelligent Being.36 Therefore, the teleological argument does have a useful, though supplementary, role in proving the existence of the God of the Bible.37
16 William Paley, Natural Theology: Selections edited by F. Ferre (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1963), 3-4.
25 Augustine, City of God, 508.
26 Geisler, Thomas Aquinas, 154-155.
28 Moreland, Scaling the Secular City, 65.
29 Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, 95.