A teleological argument (or a design argument) is an argument for the existence of God or a creator based on perceived evidence of design in nature. The word "teleological" is derived from the Greek word telos, meaning end or purpose. Teleology, the supposition that there is purpose or directive principle in the works and processes of nature, is concerned only with natural phenomena and is thus distinct from similar arguments such as the formerly common argument that extraterrestrials built the Egyptian pyr ...

Including:

• Teleological argument - The argument
• Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument
• Teleological argument - First and Second premise
• Teleological argument - Third premise
• Teleological argument - History
• Teleological argument - The watch argument
• Teleological argument - The eye argument
• Teleological argument - The anthropic principle
• Teleological argument - Controversy
• Teleological argument - References and further reading

Read more here: » Teleological argument: Encyclopedia - Teleological argument

Cicero made one of the earliest teleological arguments. He was writing from the cultural background of the Roman religion. In Roman mythology the creator goddess, Gaia was borrowed from Greek mythology. The Romans called her Tellus or Terra. When you see a sundial or a water-clock, you see that it tells the time by design and not by chance. How then can you imagine that the universe as a whole is devoid of purpose and intelligence, when it embraces everything, including these artifacts themselves and their artificers? (Gjertsen 19 ...

See also:

Teleological argument, Teleological argument - The argument, Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument, Teleological argument - First and Second premise, Teleological argument - Third premise, Teleological argument - History, Teleological argument - The watch argument, Teleological argument - The eye argument, Teleological argument - The anthropic principle, Teleological argument - Controversy, Teleological argument - References and further reading

Read more here: » Teleological argument: Encyclopedia II - Teleological argument - History

One major problem in the controversy seems to be the human imagination. Neither divine miracles nor speciation (macroevolution) occur very often (convincingly), so it is difficult to prove or disprove either one. Thus, both sides often try to argue the greater potential of one over the other. It should be noted though that the former of these options is a metaphysical supernaturalistic viewpoint which is consistent with any conceivable state of affairs, so cannot be falsified, even in principle. The downside to this is that there is no empir ...

See also:

Teleological argument, Teleological argument - The argument, Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument, Teleological argument - First and Second premise, Teleological argument - Third premise, Teleological argument - History, Teleological argument - The watch argument, Teleological argument - The eye argument, Teleological argument - The anthropic principle, Teleological argument - Controversy, Teleological argument - References and further reading

Read more here: » Teleological argument: Encyclopedia II - Teleological argument - Controversy

Teleological argument - First and Second premise. The first (and therefore second) premise assumes that one can infer the existence of intelligent design merely by examining an object. The teleological argument assumes that because life is complex, it must have been designed. This is an example of non-sequitur logic. Life or objects are described as, “orderly” or “ordered”. This implies that an intelligent designer has ordered them. In reality a system can be non-random or ordered simply because it is fol ...

See also:

Teleological argument, Teleological argument - The argument, Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument, Teleological argument - First and Second premise, Teleological argument - Third premise, Teleological argument - History, Teleological argument - The watch argument, Teleological argument - The eye argument, Teleological argument - The anthropic principle, Teleological argument - Controversy, Teleological argument - References and further reading

Read more here: » Teleological argument: Encyclopedia II - Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument

Although there are variations, the basic argument goes something like this: X is too complex to have occurred randomly or naturally. Therefore, X must have been created by an intelligent being. God is that intelligent being. Therefore, God exists. (Alternatively more than one intelligent being must have created X; therefore more than one creator, (i ...

See also:

Teleological argument, Teleological argument - The argument, Teleological argument - Objections and counter-argument, Teleological argument - First and Second premise, Teleological argument - Third premise, Teleological argument - History, Teleological argument - The watch argument, Teleological argument - The eye argument, Teleological argument - The anthropic principle, Teleological argument - Controversy, Teleological argument - References and further reading

Read more here: » Teleological argument: Encyclopedia II - Teleological argument - The argument