11 min
IS THERE A GOD? ANY GOD? #3 HOLY LAND MAN Explaining GOD
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- Spirituality
The Evidence In The Design And Its Complexity
While the cosmological argument is based on the very existence of the universe, the argument from design (also called the complexity argument, or the physio-theological argument) is based on certain features of the universe or parts of it, the high level of complexity. According to this argument, there are phenomena in the universe with such a high level of sophistication, chief among them living beings in general and humans in particular. It is inconceivable that they were created by chance. The existence of these phenomena indicates that some intelligent Factor planned and assembled them. Suppose we were to walk in the desert and find on the sand not just a glass ball, but an elaborate and complex clock. Certainly, we would conclude that some intelligent creator designed it.
Intuitive Evidence
This evidence seems intuitive, so it occupies a central place in discussions about GOD’s existence. It is based not only on our intuitions, which identify the Designer's imprint in complex works but also on experience. In our experience, we have never encountered an intricate work that is clear to us that it was created by chance. We know complex works created in intelligent design (all kinds of artificial works), and we know complex works that are not clear how they were created (living beings and humans), but we do not know any complex work that we know was created unplanned. In any case, we learn from our experience and conclude that living things and humans were also created in an intelligent and planned way. The same intelligent and planning factor is GOD.
Where Does The Comparison Come From?
There are some reviews on this argument. The philosopher David Day argued that we could not make an analogy between clocks and other familiar works of art and the universe and living beings, since we know from clocks that they are man-made. Still, the universe and living beings have no idea how they were created. We can rely on our experience alone, so we have no justification for concluding that the universe and living beings were designed in a planned way like clocks.
But Day's critique is rejected because the design argument did not require an analogy or direct experience to infer the Planner's existence from the complex work. Imagine that whoever finds the watch in the sand will be a primitive tribe member who has never seen how watches are made. Will he, therefore, have to conclude that the clock was created by chance? Certainly not. The very structure of the clock as a complex, precise, and versatile system indicates the underlying design, even if we have no idea who designed it.
The Power of Intuition
Similarly, suppose any technological object is found on Mars. In that case, it will be immediately apparent that an intelligent entity designed it, even if we have never seen how such items are made. Clear intuition obviates the need for direct experience or analogy to familiar objects. And as stated above, experience teaches us about the rule that every complex object we know is intelligently created, and we have no experience that shows the opposite example. One can doubt this intuition, but as long as there is no particular reason to deny it, it certainly makes sense to trust it and deduce from it the existence of a planner, Just as we rely on intuitions in many other areas. For more information on intuitions and their reliability, see here.
Another direction of critique argues that evolution refutes the argument from design because it shows how complex beings can emerge from a simple process of mutations and natural selection without the need for a planner. But even if we assume that all the complexities that exist in nature can be created in this way (which is not clear at all and even seems unreasonable), evolution does not refute the argument from planning at all but only takes the question one step back: what explains the existence of the universe? Lif
The Evidence In The Design And Its Complexity
While the cosmological argument is based on the very existence of the universe, the argument from design (also called the complexity argument, or the physio-theological argument) is based on certain features of the universe or parts of it, the high level of complexity. According to this argument, there are phenomena in the universe with such a high level of sophistication, chief among them living beings in general and humans in particular. It is inconceivable that they were created by chance. The existence of these phenomena indicates that some intelligent Factor planned and assembled them. Suppose we were to walk in the desert and find on the sand not just a glass ball, but an elaborate and complex clock. Certainly, we would conclude that some intelligent creator designed it.
Intuitive Evidence
This evidence seems intuitive, so it occupies a central place in discussions about GOD’s existence. It is based not only on our intuitions, which identify the Designer's imprint in complex works but also on experience. In our experience, we have never encountered an intricate work that is clear to us that it was created by chance. We know complex works created in intelligent design (all kinds of artificial works), and we know complex works that are not clear how they were created (living beings and humans), but we do not know any complex work that we know was created unplanned. In any case, we learn from our experience and conclude that living things and humans were also created in an intelligent and planned way. The same intelligent and planning factor is GOD.
Where Does The Comparison Come From?
There are some reviews on this argument. The philosopher David Day argued that we could not make an analogy between clocks and other familiar works of art and the universe and living beings, since we know from clocks that they are man-made. Still, the universe and living beings have no idea how they were created. We can rely on our experience alone, so we have no justification for concluding that the universe and living beings were designed in a planned way like clocks.
But Day's critique is rejected because the design argument did not require an analogy or direct experience to infer the Planner's existence from the complex work. Imagine that whoever finds the watch in the sand will be a primitive tribe member who has never seen how watches are made. Will he, therefore, have to conclude that the clock was created by chance? Certainly not. The very structure of the clock as a complex, precise, and versatile system indicates the underlying design, even if we have no idea who designed it.
The Power of Intuition
Similarly, suppose any technological object is found on Mars. In that case, it will be immediately apparent that an intelligent entity designed it, even if we have never seen how such items are made. Clear intuition obviates the need for direct experience or analogy to familiar objects. And as stated above, experience teaches us about the rule that every complex object we know is intelligently created, and we have no experience that shows the opposite example. One can doubt this intuition, but as long as there is no particular reason to deny it, it certainly makes sense to trust it and deduce from it the existence of a planner, Just as we rely on intuitions in many other areas. For more information on intuitions and their reliability, see here.
Another direction of critique argues that evolution refutes the argument from design because it shows how complex beings can emerge from a simple process of mutations and natural selection without the need for a planner. But even if we assume that all the complexities that exist in nature can be created in this way (which is not clear at all and even seems unreasonable), evolution does not refute the argument from planning at all but only takes the question one step back: what explains the existence of the universe? Lif
11 min