1. THE DESIGN ARGUMENT

2. Aquinas (Inductive form) Dysteleological (evil and suffering)
ESSENTIAL IDEAS
Key Idea
The amount of order and purpose in the universe suggests that it must have an intelligent designer.
2 Forms of the argument
Inductive - uses premises to reach a conclusion, if the premises are correct then the conclusion probably will be also.
Analogical – compares something that we already understand to something that we are trying to explain.
Design Qua Purpose
Design that serves a purpose, eg the function of the human eye
Design Qua Regularity
Design that shows reguarlity, eg the rotation of the planets around the sun.
Aquinas (Inductive form)
Non-rational creatures work towards beneficial order; they lack the required intelligence to do this and so must be being guided by a higher being – God.
Paley’s Watchmaker
(Analogical form)
A watch shows order and purpose and so the majority of people conclude it must have a designer; we can then apply this same principle to the universe, it too shows order and purpose and so must have been designed.
Swinburne
Evidence of design and order in the universe increases the probability of the existence of God – when we look at the 7 features of the universe, they indicate the probability that God exists
Anthropic Principle
The idea that the universe was designed with the specific purpose to support human life
Evolution
There is no designer, all the different species have evolved from simple life forms.
Deism
The Designer orders (and perhaps also creates) the universe and then leaves it alone.
Dysteleological (evil and suffering)
Counts as evidence against the idea of an all powerful and all loving God creating the universe as why would He design it to cause suffering?

3. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – INTRODUCTION
What is the key idea of the Design Argument
The amount of universe and purpose in the universe suggests that it must be designed.
The first form of the argument is analogical, what is an analogy?
When you compare something we already understand to something that you are trying to explain
The second form is inductive, how does an inductive argument work?
It uses premises to reach a conclusion, if the premises are correct then the conclusion probably will be.
What is the likelihood of the universe coming into existence by chance (dice example)
Throwing a million dice and getting a 6 on each one in a single throw.
Which version of God does the argument seek to prove?
The God of classical theism

4. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – AQUINAS
What did Aquinas mean by ‘non-rational creatures work towards beneficial order’?
Animals work towards a goal or purpose that is good for them.
2, The migration of grey whales can be used to explain Aquinas’ point but why is it a mistake to call it his example?
He lived at a time when it would have been impossible to track the movement of whales.
Outline the premises of Aquinas’ argument
There is beneficial order in the universe.
This beneficial order could not happen by chance.
Many objects do not have the intelligence to work towards a goal.
Therefore they must be directed by something more intelligent.
Therefore God exists as the explanation of beneficial order.
Give a strength of Aquinas’ argument
What alternative/better explanation is there for non-rational beings working towards beneficial order?
Give a weakness of Aquinas’argument
Even if we concede that non-rational beings are not capable of acting beneficially by themselves, it is still a big leap to conclude that they must be being guided by God.

5. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – PALEY
In the Watchmaker Analogy, which two features does the watch possess that makes Paley conclude it must have been designed?
Order – the way the cogs all turn together
Purpose – to tell the time
How does Paley’s analogy avoid the problem of anthropomorphism?
By saying that God was obviously superior to a human designer
How does Paley’s analogy take into account the problem of evil and suffering?
He claims that they show bad design, not an absence of it.
Who agreed that the analogy of animals and machines seems correct
Swinburne
What does Paley avoid mentioning?
Anything about the nature of the designer

6. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – CRITICISMS OF PALEY
What was Hume’s criticism regarding purpose?
It was unclear whether Paley was arguing whether it was the parts of the universe or the whole that has a purpose. If it is the whole that is supposed to have a purpose, it is unclear what this purpose is.
What was Dawkins criticism about chance?
Dawkins said that although it was highly unlikely that the universe came into being by a single chance, it is not impossible that it came about by a series of chances.
What was Dawkins’ criticism about purpose?
That humans are obsessed with imposing purpose on things, that we view the universe through, ‘Purpose coloured spectacles’.
What is the dystelogical argument
The argument put forward by Hume and Mill that an all loving and all powerful God would not a have designed a universe that causes suffering through natural disasters such as earthquakes and disease.
What was Hume’s criticism regarding anthropomorphism?
That comparing God to a human designer reduces God’s power.

7. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE
What is the key idea of the anthropic principle?
The universe was created for the purpose of the creation of human life
How does the anthropic principle reconcile a divine designer creating the universe with the Big Bang and evolution?
These are the ways in which the designer chose to bring human life into existence.
Why do some people find the anthropic principle convincing?
The universe is so orderly that not only was it designed, but it was designed specifically to support the creation of human life.
Why do some people find the anthropic principle arrogant?
The universe has existed for billions of years and yet human life has been around for a tiny fraction of this period.
What is problematic with claiming that the universe was made solely for humans?
Because the idea of its conditions being suitable for us to live could also be applied to any creature that currently exists.

8. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – SWINBURNE
What was Swinburne’s key idea?
Evidence of design and order in the universe increases the probability of the existence of God – when we look at the 7 features of the universe, they indicate the probability that God exists
List the 7 features of the universe that Swinburne believed increased the probability that God exists
The very existence of the universe
The fact that the universe is ordered
The existence of consciousness
Human opportunities to do good
The pattern of history
The evidence of miracles
Religious experience
How do Swinburne’s ideas differ to Paley’s?
Paley only spoke about the designer of the universe as ‘intelligent’. He was careful to avoid commenting on the nature of the designer Himself. Swinburne, on the other hand proposes that God is the designer and his qualities are omnipotence, omnibenevolence and generosity.
How do Swinburne’s ideas fit with the Anthropic Principle?
Both propose that the universe was created for the purpose of humans.
Evolution and natural selection were the vehicles through which God chose to bring human life into existence.
Explain what Swinburne meant by ‘the earth’s providential nature indicates that it was designed by god’
The earth contains everything that is necessary for survival, and natural laws function within the universe making it a place where humans can develop. This type of universe is one that man can meaningfully contribute to the development and maintenance of. This is exactly the kind of universe that a loving God would want to create.

9. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – EVOLUTION
What is the theory of evolution?
The basic idea behind the theory of evolution is that all the different species have evolved from simple life forms.
Give 2 strengths of evolution.
1, There is a wealth of evidence to support the development of species through natural selection.
2, It avoids dealing with the question of why a supposedly omnipotent and omnibenevolent God would create a universe filled with evil and suffering
Give 2 weaknesses of evolution.
1, there are things that the theory fails to explain such as why the universe was created? What is its purpose?
2, Although there is undeniably a large amount of evidence to support natural selection, there are significant gaps in the fossil records which arguably calls the credibility of the theory into question. Furthermore, why have some species evolved ineffectively?
How does evolution challenge the idea that God designed the universe?
Evolution is a direct challenge to the idea of God designing and creating the universe as it replaces him with an arbitrary process.
How can evolution work with the idea that God designed the universe?
God and evolution can work together as many theists consider evolution to be a process set in motion by God as the vehicle he chose to use to design and create the universe.

10. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – DEISM
What is the key idea of Deism?
The Designer orders (and perhaps also creates) the universe and then leaves it alone.
Give 2 strengths of Deism.
1, It explains why the universe was designed with order and purpose; God planned it that way.
2, It accounts for why there is evil and suffering as, having created the universe, God has now abandoned his creation and is not there to intervene.
Give 2 weaknesses of Deism.
1, Why would any designer design a universe that would cause suffering?
2, The idea of a God who abandons his creation completely undermines a core belief of many monotheistic traditions such as Christianity and Islam that God is omnibenevolent – is this really a weakness though?
How is Deism different from the major world religions?
Because these religions all teach that God has intervened in the world to speak to them in particular, through their prophets, priests, scriptures or messiahs. The God of Deism would not do this. Most of the world's religions also teach that God performs miracles but Deism rejects the miraculous
How does Hick defend God from not intervening in the universe?
Hick argues that, in order to make free-willed decisions, humans have to perceive themselves to be alone in the universe. Therefore God needs to hide himself and, if God does intervene, it has to be subtly, leaving the rest of humanity free to make their own decisions. This is very important for the freewill defence to the problem of evil and suffering.

11. ESSENTIAL IDEAS – PURPOSE AND REGULARITY
What is ‘Design Qua Purpose’ and what example did Paley use to explain it?
This aspect of the argument looks at how things fit together for a purpose. The example used by Paley to illustrate this was how all the parts of the human eye are fitted together for sight.
What is ‘Design Qua Regularity’ and what example did Paley use to support it?
This aspect of the argument looks at how things work in a regular pattern. The example used by Paley to illustrate this was how the planets in the solar system rotate in an orderly pattern.
What is meant by the term ‘Regularities of Succession’?
Orderly processes that work in the same way each time, eg the rotation of the planets in the solar system.
What is meant by the term ‘Regularities of Co-Presence’?
The tendency of things to turn up together in orderly patterns, eg the parts of the human eye.