Now we’ll look at the Teleological Argument for God. Many people are familiar with this argument in it’s more common name, “The Watchmaker Theory.”
Basically, the idea is that if you find a watch on the ground, you see the complexities and the order of the device and automatically assume there is a watchmaker. You’ve never seen the watchmaker himself (or herself, for that matter), yet you believe that he exists because of the order of the watch. Now, if you look at the Earth and see all the complexities therein, in the same vein as the watchmaker theory, you would assume there is an Earth-maker, right?
A bit more formally, the basic elements of the Teleological Argument are as follows:
- The Universe has order
- Order cannot come from chaos or chance
- Therefore, the Universe must have Someone who ordered (or orders) it.
- God exists, and He ordered the Universe.
Also to note, that it is the Teleological argument that Darwin explicitly argues against in his famous work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. (Yes, I put the whole title there).
Anyway, what’s your take on the Teleological argument?? Any fans?