The Design Argument
The design argument outlines that the world has been designed, which suggests there would be a designer. If there were a designer, it would be God because he is the only being that has the power and will to do so. It is also known as the Teleological argument
William Paley was an English clergyman and philosopher. One of Paley’s ideas was his watch analogy. Paley said that if you found a watch on the ground you wouldn’t assume it had always been there, you would assume it had been designed. The explanation for its existence is that a designer designed it. Paley compared this idea to the Universe, and concluded that they are both complex and both have a purpose. Therefore they both have a designer. Some criticisms came forward against his idea with the argument of evil, however Paley argued that a watch may also develop faults. This also applies to the universe, as it may have also developed faults.
Another idea is Richard Swinburne’s belief of probability suggesting that the evidence of design and order in the universe increases the probability of the existence of God. Swinburne observed that the order of the Universe and how we are perfectly suited to live in this environment, this implies more that we were designed rather than by us being able to survive through chance. In Swinburne’s argument he also kept the idea that God had reason to create the Universe, because He is omnibenevolent and wants to share the wonders of the Universe with humans. Swinburne observed seven features of the universe, which he argues increases the probability of the universe being designed: the existence of the Universe, the order of the Universe, the existence of consciousness, opportunities for humans to do well, pattern of history, religious experiences, and miracles.
A final idea of the Universe being designed is the aesthetic argument. F.R. Tennant was a key thinker of this idea, he observed that the universe has a natural beauty which goes...