William Paley's The Teleological Argument (Coursework Sample)

Philosophy
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Philosophy
William Paley’s “The Teleological Argument” explains the complexity of the world and the existence of a higher being. He makes an analogy of a watch with the natural universe to explain the presence of a higher being. Paley teleological argument moves to explain the existence of God using the observation of purposiveness of nature. The argument focuses on a statement that there must “exist” a designer, and it is from this implication that the theory is called a design argument.
Paley’s argument is founded on the analogy of a watchmaker and God. He mentions that the complexity of a watch verifies that it must have been created. Through the organization of different parts of the watch, it is apparent that it has a purpose, which is telling time. All the parts of the watch are ordered, fit together, and organized to ensure that it functions. When the parts are created in a different way, the watch does not work and, therefore, cannot fulfill its function. Paley continues to argue that such a meticulous device cannot come into being by chance; instead, it must have been designed. In this way, an intelligent maker, who is a watchmaker, is responsible for its design.
In a similar manner, Paley concludes that the universe exists with a purpose just like a watch. The world has its intelligent design which is founded on different natural experiences such as unity, coherence, order, design, and even complexity. For...