1.The argument makes it likely that there are lots of worldmakers. Strength: Man made things often require many creators. For example a house needs many people with diffferent skills to build it. Using Paley’s analogy, it could be argued that it is unlikely that there is only one worldmaking God. This clearly goes against the ideas of classical theism. Weakness: Paley argues that the watch and the world are similar in that they are both designed and created, but they are dissimilar in proportion. The world is infinitely more complex than the watch and so the worldmaker is infinitely more intelligent than the watchmaker. Therefore, the worldmaker is capable of designing and creating the world alone.

B Essays – A02 Testing your skills in evaluation Marked out of 15 Not concerned with knowledge and understanding (This will be covered in a. ) Not just about regurgitating information – 17 mins! An argument needs to be developed. You should state whether your agree of disagree with points and why. (avoid ‘I’) Make a point in your introduction, argue it through your essay and reiterate it in your conclusion. Be consistent.

Analysis This is a very damaging criticism because ___. However, one could argue that _____. The Design Argument can not stand up against this criticism because _____ Although Paley defends the Design Argument by stating _____, he fails to protect the argument fully because _______. Hume’s argument is weak here because ____. Despite this criticism, the Design Argument is still a sound one because ________.

Introduction In your introduction, you should state whether or not you agree with the idea you are being asked to assess. E.g. Q: Assess the view that philosophy has made the Design Argument a failure. [15] In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume presented a philosophical critique of the Design Argument. Although many consider Hume’s views to damage the Design Argument significantly, it is questionable whether it causes it to fail. This essay will seek to show that the Philosophical critique does not cause the Design Argument to fail completely, particularly not for those who have a pre-existing religious belief.

Paragraph Structure - Explain the criticism (Briefly) E.g. As an empiricist, Hume attacks the Design Argument by stating that it moves too far away from the available evidence. Perhaps the universe does require an explanation, but we cannot, Hume argues, leap to the conclusion that this explanation is the God of classical theism. - Critically analyse the criticism – RELATE BACK TO QUESTION E.g. However, supporters of the Design Argument recognise that it is not a conclusive proof – the argument is inductive and seeks only to make it seem likely that God exists. Aquinas wanted to give people ways to get to God and realised that a leap of faith would be necessary in order to draw the conclusion that the Christian God created the world. Thus, it seems that this criticism does not make the Design Argument fail, as the conclusion that God created the world is one which requires faith as well as evidence of design in the world. Repeat this structure to give 3 / 4 points

Conclusion Draw your argument to a conclusion, making it clear what you think. (Try not to use ‘I’) E.g. So, we have seen that Hume presents some difficult challenges for the Design Argument. He shows that using apparent evidence of order and purpose in the world is not sufficient to allow one to draw the conclusion that the Christian God designed and created the universe. However, he does not make the Design Argument fail, as it was never the intension of thinkers like Aquinas and Paley to provide conclusive proof that God created the world; they simply wanted to suggest that it was a likely conclusion given the evidence. Hume admits that the order of the universe may require explanation, but does not provide an alternative to the Design Argument and thus he cannot be said to have made the argument fail.