Design arguments for the existence of God (Judeo-Christian) Part 1: Introduction, the Bible, Aquinas and Paley

Information: This article critically examines several popular Judeo-Christian arguments for the existence of God, based on the appearance of design in the world. A version of this article was originally published on the website www.faithnet.org.uk.

Introduction

Picture of tree with sun shining through

The key theme of design arguments is that God must exist because of the way things are set up (or 'work') in the world, or that the world cannot have come to be the way it is without some input from a higher intelligence. Design arguments are very much concerned with showing that God is the Creator of the world. In Christianity, design arguments are considered to be an aspect of natural theology. This is the idea that we can have a basic knowledge of God, from looking at the world around us. Natural theology is also associated with general revelation, in that it is supposed to be available to all people, at all times, and in all places (for more on this see Arguments for the existence of God (Part 1): Introduction and design).

It is important to speak of design arguments (plural), rather than 'The Design Argument'. This is because there are several different types of 'design arguments', explored in the philosophy of religion.

Some design arguments are known as teleological arguments. In Greek, the word 'telos' means end, or purpose. This type of argument suggests not so much that there is evidence of design in the world, but that the world has been set up (or 'designed') for a specific purpose. Many people who believe there is evidence of purposeful design in the world, believe that things have been set up so that human (intelligent) life might flourish.

The idea that everything in the world and the universe has been set up for the benefit of humanity (or so that we might be here), or analysing things from the human vantage-point alone, is known as anthropocentrism.

Finally, design arguments tend to work on the basis of drawing analogies with the way things are in the world. For example, a famous design argument suggests that because a watch is a complex and ordered thing, and the world and the universe equally so, that as a watch-maker made the former, so a world and universe-maker (i.e. God), must have made the latter.

In philosophy, knowledge which is said to be true on the basis of our experience of things, is known as a posteriori. This is contrasted with a priori knowledge, which is knowledge that is true prior to (or before) our experience.

Something to think about: Would the statement, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth', be a posteriori or a priori?

Design arguments and the Bible

The Bible begins with an account of God creating the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1). Therefore, a major presupposition in the biblical worldview, is that everything is here because God created it. What is interesting about this is that none of the biblical writers attempt to justify the idea that God exists, and that God created everything. They just assume that God does, and that God did! And as the Bible is presumed to be the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), this appears to be a natural thing for them to do.

However, in the modern world people are far from happy to assume such things, and so theologians have had to resort to using the Bible to show that God's existence can be 'implied', from the way the world is:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of [God's] hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - [God's] eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that [people] are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

Both these passages suggest that evidence for the existence of God may be found in the created order. However, this raises significant issues. Firstly, do these passages relate only to the Judeo-Christian God, or do 'the heavens' reveal knowledge of other Gods/gods as well? Some people may say that these passages only apply to the Christian notion of God. However, Psalm 19 actually comes from the Jewish Old Testament, so this interpretation might not be satisfactory to Jews. Some might also want to know exactly what sort of 'knowledge' the heavens are revealing about God. Is it the specific law of God (as spoken of later in Psalm 19, verse 7 [1]), or just a vague awareness that God exists? Does the way things are in the world also teach us that God is omnipotent, omniscient and benevolent? Some might say it does not, when we look at the 'evidence' (for more on this see The problem of evil and suffering: An introduction).

Something to think about: If God exists, do you think the world presents clear evidence of God's eternal power, and divine nature?

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Thomas Aquinas's fifth way

Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) was a Catholic theologian, who lived at a time when the works of Aristotle (382-322 BCE) were being re-discovered. Aquinas believed that Aristotle's philosophy set out truths about the nature of humanity and the world, which should be compatible with the Bible. In other words, general revelation should not contradict special revelation (and vice versa) [2]. This meant Aquinas had to find a way of reconciling Aristotle's belief in God with that of the Church. One way he did this was in his Five Ways (or five proofs of God's existence).

The fifth of Aquinas' ways is a form of design, or teleological argument for God's existence:

We see that things which lack knowledge, such as natural bodies, act for an end, and this is evident from their acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to obtain the best result. Hence it is plain that they achieve their end, not fortuitously, but designedly. Now whatever lacks knowledge cannot move towards an end, unless it be directed by some being endowed with knowledge and intelligence; as the arrow is directed by the archer. Therefore, some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God. (Aquinas [Emphasis mine])

The solor systemThe main point of Aquinas' argument (or observation about the way things are), is that objects such as moons, planets and suns are clearly not 'endowed with knowledge and intelligence', and so cannot determine their own place in the universe. For instance, the earth, 'our' moon, and the sun did not work out between themselves, what would be the best orbit for each of them. So something (or someone) must have done this for them. Of course, we could say that they simply became fixed in 'perfect' orbits by chance, but this would not be good enough for Aquinas. For him, the solar system presents evidence of order, and as this cannot be a chance (or blind) thing, we are required us to posit the existence of God (or a cosmic orderer).

Something to think about: Do you think Aquinas would be happy with the logic and argument of his 'fifth way', if he lived in the present day and age, or do you think he might change it or even dismiss it as a proof of God's existence?

William Paley's watch analogy

In 1802, William Paley (1743-1805) set out what is regarded by many as the classic design argument - the watch analogy!

Paley's watch analogy was published in his book Natural Theology (1802), twenty three years after David Hume (1711-1776) had critiqued (and rejected) design arguments as a basis for proving God's existence in Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779).

As with Aquinas, Paley's basic premise is that physical matter cannot become complex and ordered, without the involvement of some higher (ordering) intelligence (i.e. God).

In crossing a [field], suppose I pitched my foot against a stone, and were asked how the stone came to be there; I might possibly answer, that, for any thing I knew to the contrary, it had lain there for ever... But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground... I should hardly think of the answer which I had before given, that, for any thing I knew, the watch might have always been there. Yet why should not this answer serve for the watch as well as for the stone?... For this reason... that, when we come to inspect the watch, we perceive (what we could not discover in the stone) that its several parts are framed and put together for a purpose, e. g. that they are so formed and adjusted as to produce motion, and that motion so regulated as to point out the hour of the day [etc.]... This mechanism being observed... the inference, we think, is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker. (William Paley [bracket mine])

The central premise of the watch analogy is that we would not be surprised to see a stone lying in a field, but we would if we saw a watch. This is because we know that watches have been made for telling the time, not lying in a field. In fact, if a watch was left in a field, it would soon stop working, likely rust and fall apart. However, just as we know a watch in a field is not fulfilling its purpose, we also know that a stone is (or could be)! Now Paley's point is that the difference in our responses to finding a stone or a watch in a field, is largely due to what we know of the complexity, purpose and order of the latter. In other words, when walking through a field we would not say, 'Someone dropped a stone', but we would say 'Someone dropped a watch!' because it meant to be on someone's wrist (or in their pocket), so that they might be able to know what the time is.

Something to think about and discuss: Paley uses the complexity of a watch made by humans, to suggest that a simple stone has been made by God. What would happen if he reversed this? Could Paley show (through analogy) that God created the world by comparing the complexity of a watch, with the simplicity of a stone?

Design arguments for the existence of God (Judeo-Christian) Part 2: Evidence and critiques

Further reading (and selected bibliography)

Notes

[1] 'The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.' (Psalm 19:7f)

[2] Special revelation is when who God is, or what God wants people to know, is specifically revealed to them. For example, The Bible, the Qur'an etc. are types of special revelation, because they are said to communicate God's specific will (or contain what God wants people to know/do).