AS Design qua Regularity

AS Design qua Regularity

1. Thomas Aquinas (13th Century)

   • Aquinas is the main supporter of this theory. Philosophers use his evidence of the rotation of the planets to prove that there must be an intelligent being, God. He believed that the universes was so ordered and regular, that to move inanimate objects, there must be a guiding hand to allow objects to achieve their end.

2. Analogies

   • Formal Garden
     • A formal garden shows order and regularity within its appearance. Although we cannot always see the gardener, we assume that (s)he exists because the garden is so regular and ordered. This is like the universe (the garden) and God (the gardener). The universe is so ordered and regular that we assume there must be a creator/designer. That designer is God. This is true even though we cannot see God.
   • Archer and an Arrow
     • An arrow is an inanimate object, and cannot move without an archer firing it to allow it to achieve its end/purpose. This is compared to the rotation and movement of the planets.
   • Guiding Hand
     • Nature suggests a realm of order, and within in that things seem to have a purpose. For Aquinas, anything which has a purpose requires the aid of a guiding hand to allow it to reach its end/purpose. Thus if nature appears ordered, it must have a guiding hand - God.

3. Examples

   • Aquinas
     • The planets are inanimate, and no human force could move them, yet they continue to move constantly without fail. This shows that there must be some powerful, intelligent being that is directing them towards their end/purpose (their motion). The only being powerful enough is God. They move so orderly and regularly that it is impossible to have happened by chance, it must have been created designedly. This would suggest that here is a God, and he both created and designed the world.
   • Paley
     • Paley used astronomy, such as Newton's Law of Motion and Gravity and the rotation of the planets. These show design and intelligence, but also order and regularity. This means that it cannot have come about by chance, so there must be a God, who created the world.

4. William Paley (18th Century)

   • Paley is for design qua purpose, but he found some evidence for design qua regularity. However, whilst Aquinas uses evidence of order and regularity to prove that there must be some kind of 'guiding hand' and intelligent being to allow inanimate objects to reach their end, Paley uses the order and regularity to show that the universe cannot have come about by chance, there must be a designer/creator.