PhilosophyLesson 3 of 4 in the course Metaphysics

Arguments for God's Existence and the Problem of Evil

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson explores two influential approaches to arguing for God's existence: arguments from design and arguments from objective morality. Both begin with features of the world and ask what could best explain them.

Teleological arguments infer a designer or purposive cause from apparent order, purpose, or complexity. The word teleological relates to telos, meaning an end or goal. These arguments may focus on natural processes, living organisms, or the order of the cosmos.

All flashcards

What is a teleological argument?
An argument that infers a designer or purposive cause from apparent order, complexity, or goal-directed features of reality.
What does Aquinas's archer analogy illustrate?
It illustrates how an intelligent being can direct things that lack knowledge toward their ends.
What is the difference between subjective and objective values?
Subjective values depend on individual or cultural attitudes; objective values are claimed to apply independently of those preferences.
What is Anselm's definition of God?
A being than which nothing greater can be conceived.
What is the logical problem of evil?
The argument that evil is incompatible with a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good.

Quiz questions

  1. In Aquinas's argument from directedness, what does the archer analogy illustrate?Answer: An intelligent director guides things lacking knowledge toward their ends.
  2. Why is Paley's design argument described as inductive?Answer: It makes a designer probable by analogy with designed artifacts.
  3. Which claim is central to Anselm's reasoning about God?Answer: Existing in reality as well as in the understanding is greater than existing only in the understanding.
  4. In Rowe's evidential argument, what makes intense suffering evidence against God?Answer: It appears preventable without losing a greater good or permitting an equal or worse evil.

Based on Introduction to Philosophy by Nathan Smith (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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