Teleology is an argument of God’s existence following the evidence of order defined as the design of nature. Teleological arguments also known as arguments from design, explain the order in the universe to the existence of God. The universe is believed to be ordered towards some end or a certain purpose. It is more reasonable to suggest that the universe was created by an intelligent being to accomplish a purpose rather than it being there by chance (McGrath, 2010). The teleological argument has been used to show the existence of God with popular arguments including that of William Paley.
Paley used a watch to relate to the order, complexity and purpose of the universe. A watch has a number of ordered parts that work in harmony for an end purpose which implies intelligent design. The nature of the world exhibits clear evidence of design. Teleologists argue that there has to a designer behind every design, in this case a supernatural being identified as God. Suggestions to these arguments include; in case the earth’s atmosphere slightly varied or the sun moved closer or further from the earth, then life on earth would be destroyed.
The fact that the environment possesses all forms needed for life appears to be too coincidental (McGrath, 2010). Modern teleological arguments find evidence of design in physics focusing on a fine-tuned universe where everything is as it’s supposed to be to support life. The origin of life has been explained in terms of natural processes, but evidence of intelligent design is expressed by the mere fact that the universe allows life to exist above all other notions. It is still possible to sustain teleological arguments in light of modern scientific principles mainly because of the formation of right conditions to allow life.
It is very unlikely that this happens by chance presenting evidence of an intelligent and supernatural being to produce life. Scientific discoveries show how complex and sensitive various conditions need to be for the origin of life for the universe (McGrath, 2010). The universe seems to have been fine-tuned from its inception to produce life on earth. Slight alterations of physical and cosmological quantities in nature would result to an imbalance that would destroy the existence of life. Anthropic cosmology is defined as the consideration that observations of the universe have to be compatible with the conscious life that observes it.
This explains why it is able to accommodate life. Scientific fields of physics and chemistry show abundant evidence in the properties of the universe and earth indicating life did not happen by chance rather by a plan. The arguments resulting from these discoveries are referred to as anthropic principles. The physical properties constituting the overall functioning of the earth seem to be fine-tuned. In contrast to the teleological principle which is more dependent on the design, the anthropic cosmology reveals more of the designer. There is a power outside space and time which is the source of life on earth.
The forces capable of providing all the energy, changing laws and the solar system have to be attributed to a supernatural being or power (McGrath, 2010). According to anthropic cosmology, the design of the universe implies that there is a Creator popularly referred to as God. Neo-Darwinian biology proposes natural, not supernatural processes in the development of the order of the universe. Evolution of species from other species primarily through natural selection explains that organisms adapt to their surroundings (McGrath, 2010). Darwinism replaced teleological explanations with physical ones of natural selection.
The universe is designed in a way that it works through specific designs. Biology is design based and adopts the notion of design and teleology. One of the most mystifying things about the universe is that it permits any kind of design to work the way it does. There is teleology in both the biological and the technical world because the universe is simply designed that way. Natural selection in Darwinism explains how a fine working design has a chance of reproduction but not why the design works the way it does. This is explained by teleology which is the basis for natural selection.
Science works within the frameworks of pre-existing assumptions and for Darwin’s theory to work it is on the condition that there is teleology in nature. Organisms survive because they are teleological as opposed to stating they are teleological because they survived. There is no escaping the fact that the universe is an intelligent design which must have been created by an intelligent designer (McGrath, 2010). This assumption explains it existence and what it is while the cosmic design describes why it is this way. Although few disputes arise including nature’s diversity and evolution; teleology and design offer a rather simple truth.
Something carried has a carrier just as something designed will have a designer. The dispute is thus not whether there is a designer of the universe but rather whether the complexity of the universe does constitute a design. Life forms on earth are highly complex with hundreds of conditions required to sustain it. The random chance of all these things happening is simply beyond imagination. There is so much design in the universe to assume it just happened by accident. Organisms have great complexities to explain without a creator which elucidates the teleological argument of God’s existence.
