Summary Of The Argument From Design By William Paley

673 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: William paley’s argument from design

William Paley’s, The Argument from Design, talks a great deal about a being coming across a watch and questioning why the watch was there and how the watch was created there. He stated that there must have been a creator to the watch. Everything that has a design has a creator and that how nobody had ever seen the creator at work as he crafts this piece of art altogether to the point of where everything is put in place and has a purpose, that if even one thing was out of place that the watch would not tick, or for that matter, never work at all. In fact however, Paley was not talking about a watch. Paley was talking about the universe, with the watch as a metaphor. The universe is obviously much more complex than a watch and they both serve …show more content…

There is the food chain that would support this. Everything living seems to be the food and nutrition of another living thing. There are also the trees and large bodies of water. The trees provide breathable air for us while the water is for us to drink. There is also the fact that the Earth is set in place at just the right spot in orbit that the sun neither burns it to a crisp or to where the Earth is far enough to freeze over. The Earth is in that on spot of orbit where it can become warm enough to sustain life for human beings, animals, plants, and just about every living thing on the planet. The fact that the Earth also spins, providing night time for humans and other animals to sleep, or for nocturnal animals to have their own time to hunt or otherwise thrive. The argument all in all states that, everything that exists has a complex nature and design. This complex nature therefore, has a creator that can only explain these patterns and designs. Another part of the argument would be that nothing happens by chance. According to Paley nothing happens just because. Everything has a purpose and a function. For example, this watch shows evidence of design so therefore, anything that shows of design likely has a

Show More
Related

  • The Argument from Design, by William Paley

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1800th century, William Paley, an English philosopher of religion and ethics, wrote the essay The Argument from Design. In The Argument from Design, Paley tries to prove the existence of a supreme being through the development of a special kind of argument known as the teleological argument. The teleological argument is argument by analogy, an argument based on the similarities between two different subjects. This essay purposefully attempts to break down Paley’s argument and does so in the following manner: firstly, Paley’s basis for the teleological argument is introduced; secondly, Paley’s argument is derived and analyzed; thirdly, the connection between Paley’s argument and the existence of a supreme being is made; and lastly, the supreme being is compared to the supreme being in Western Philosophy, God.

    Read More

  • Cleanthes

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    In very complex machines, missing or undiscovered parts are more likely to arise; yet, such disorder would no doubt make an individual more curious as to the objects purpose. Although in some cases, a part may seem useless, the individual would continue to question and wonder what purpose that part serves. No one could believe that the watch was assembled together with sheer luck; therefore, an intelligent designer exists. The watch is definitely not made by the principle of order and it is not believable to say or think that the watch was not invented. Design cannot exist without the designer. Every appearance of design, which exists in the watch, exists in the works of nature. While the world is far more complex than a simplistic instrument, like a watch, it is no different when compared at the base levels, especially when seeing that both are so mechanical, showing elements of order.

    Read More

  • Paley's Argument From Design Argument

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Teleological argument, given by William Paley in 1802 states that there is a “Designing Creator”, and that everything in this world has been designed to fulfill some sort of function. He bases this argument using a traditional time piece, a watch, as an analogy. Paley states that the watch, unlike a stone or a rock, could not have been placed or created by accident, and that the existence of a watch is proof that there must be a watchmaker. He compares this watch to the existence of the universe, stating that the universe itself is proof that there is some sort of designer present, and like a watch (but unlike a rock or stone) could not have been created by accident. He then continues to state that further evidence of a God can be found in the supposed “regularity” of the universe. Paley claims that due to the universe behaving in a very apparent manner, while retaining boundaries (Newtons laws of motion, etc) that this is a very apparent display of a God having rule over a very mechanical universe. Now Darwin on the other hand was a large

    Read More

  • Drscoll Essay

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mark Driscoll brings out different viewpoints relating to creation. As Christians, Genesis 1:1 can be our foundation in our belief, “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This helps us realize the miraculous act of God by which He brought the universe into existence. We should not have to rely on individuals using Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory to help explain the origin of life apart from God. God creation set us apart. After all, God stated His creation was made “very good”.

    Read More

  • Essay On Edward Lee Howard's Fault

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    What happens when multiple CIA agents start disappearing, or begin getting arrested as exposed American spies overseas? Who takes the blame for these egregious actions? In 1985 that blame was placed on former CIA agent Edward Lee Howard. The former agent was accused of one the most criminal acts that could be done against one’s country by incriminating the agents that were sent abroad. Although Howard denied the charges, without undisputable evidence there was no way of knowing if he was telling the truth, and would be prosecuted because of it. When Howard realized there was no way out of the dreadful future set out before him by the FBI, he decided that the best thing he could do for himself was runaway to Russia. There he became the first

    Read More

  • The Design Argument For The Existence Of God

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    He had two different approaches to how the universe was created. Paley compared a watched the way the universe, he thought the world was like a machine it must have a des... ... middle of paper ... ... nthropic Principle’ believed that ‘Nature produces living beings but with fine tuning that is found in the universe; life could just as easily not developed into earth’ I think that this quote is trying to say that the universe has been developed by evolution and was created by God, a designer.

    Read More

  • Jean-Paul Sartre and Radical Freedom

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    The key belief of existentialists is that existence precedes essence. In order to understand that claim we must first understand what Jean- Paul Sartre means by the term “essence.” He gives an example of a person forging a paper-cutter. When an individual sets out to make any object, he/she has a purpose for it in mind and an idea of what the object will look like before beginning the actual production of it, so this object has an essence, or purpose, before it ever has an existence. The individual, as its creator, has given the paper-cutter its essence. Using the paper cutter example, Sartre argues that human beings cannot have an essence (or purpose) before their “production,” becaus...

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Big Questions By Jim Tilley

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jim Tilley uses humor to create a philosophically serious poem in The Big Questions. Tilley states in the poem that big questions are big only because they have never been answered. Using the comparison of a bear’s big questions to a human’s big questions, he brings up some good points. The bear is eyeing the human as the answer to his only big question, and he has figured out the answer. As compared to human’s where everything is much more complex. We worry constantly about miniscule problems and are always looking for answers to life’s big questions.

    Read More

  • The Universe: The Design Argument by William Paley

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Paley develops his view of the design argument through an example of a wristwatch. He has the reader imagine themselves coming across a watch on the ground. He then asks the reader how they think the watch came to be there or came to exist in the first place. Looking at the watch, Paley says that one will notice the intricate design of the watch and notice that all the parts were put together in such a way to serve a purpose, namely, to tell time. Paley believes that from looking at the watch we will be lead to think that the watch has a clever designer. The watch displays a certain evidence of its own design.

    Read More

  • Sartre's View On Existentialism

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Humans are born with no purpose and later figure it out, creating their own purpose of life. Sartre uses the example of the paper knife to clearly show us his views on existentialism, and how the example shows us how existence precedes essence. The paper knife was created by someone with an intended purpose before it is created, and its essence is known pre-creation. A human being is created and further develops a meaning after being created. “This object was produced by a craftsman who drew inspiration from a concept: he referred both to the concept of what a paper knife is, and too a known production technique that is a part of that concept and is, by large, a formula” (20-21). He explains to his readers that the paper knife is an object that was created and also serves a purpose. His goal of the example of the paper knife is to show us that “… the essence of the paper knife- that is, the sum of the formulae and properties that enable it to be produced and defined- precedes its existence” (21). Sartre believes that for human beings, existence precedes essence, meaning that we exist and then find our meaning in life after we are created. Nothing can predetermine human being’s life goals or their character, while objects are created with a defined purpose

    Read More

  • The Creation By E. O Wilson Essay

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Creation is an open letter E. O. Wilson wrote to a Southern Baptist pastor. With the environment declining, Wilson is desperate in seeking others to help conserve the environment. Therefore, in Wilson’s letter, he pleads to the pastor and any other Christian leaders to engage the community of the importance of saving the earth and its environment. His letter is also specifically aimed to the audience who: strictly regard the story of creation to having no connection with evolution, those who endorse to the “rapture” theological system. He communicates in a way as to persuade the pastor that taking care of the environment is a religious obligation. His persuasion focuses on “Creation” which is referred to as areas in our life which depend on nature and the planet. Wilson goes about this by sharing various examples of how we as human beings have lost interest for nature and have focused more on society. By this Wilson is saying that we have used nature as both a storehouse for resources and a place for garbage. Regardless of how Wilson shares his ideas and his concerns, it is clearly seen that he pleads to create a bridge which includes scientists

    Read More

  • Dorothy Draper: Anti-Minimalistic Way Of Design

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the early 1920s being a woman and owning your own business was unheard of and thought of as “daring”. Women back then weren't really thought of as being business owners. It was a common way of life that a woman back then would just get married and have children. One woman challenged this way of thinking, her name was Dorothy Draper. Dorothy Draper was the first person to make interior design into a real career, and not just people arranging their homes on their own. She was established in 1923, her business was called Dorothy Draper & Company. With her blends concoction of color and classical furniture she really made a name for herself and invented the term and design practice of “Modern Baroque” (Dorothy Draper & Company,1). Though she

    Read More

  • The Teleological Argument

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    Paley’s analogy came about from the concept of a stone. He encountered this stone during his walk and wondered how it came about (Paley, 1802, 196). He applies the idea that since a designer must have created this stone, this designer must have created other things just like how a watch is created by a watchmaker. His analogy for a watch and its watch maker becomes his key argument because he argues that you cannot come to a conclusion that a stone was formed by a natural process, just like how when you look at a watch it has a watchmaker (Paley, 1802, 96). When comparing it to a stone, Paley says someone must have created it.

    Read More

  • Comparing Frankenstein, Origin of the Species and Decent of Man

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Darwin's works the idea of the rejection of God as creator of man prevails. He alludes to prehistoric marine Ascidian larvae, as the predecessors to the later evolved human beings we are today. This would give credit for the creation of man to the process of evolution, not to the handiwork of a Supreme Being. "Species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species"(Appleman, 36). Darwin is showing here what conclusions he came upon about the "Origin of the Species", in which he used science to prove his theories. He is replacing God with ideas...

    Read More

  • Charles S. Pierce's How To Make Our Ideas Clear

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay, “How to Make Our Ideas Clear”, an American philosopher, Charles S. Pierce aims to explain on how to make our ideas clear. He states that our ideas can either be clear and obscure, or distinct and confused. He believed that with thoughtful inquiry of our beliefs, can be broaden to help us develop a firmer grasp of reality. A clear idea is so perceivable that it will be unmistakably recognized, and if it fails to be clear, it is defined as obscure.

    Read More

More about Summary Of The Argument From Design By William Paley

Open Document