teleological arguments – Diversity Reading List

Garcia, Laura. Teleological and Design Arguments

2008, in Charles Taliaferro & Philip Quinn (eds.) A Companion to the Philosophy of Religion, Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell: 375-384.

Categories: Arguments for Theism, Design Arguments for Theism, Metaphysics & Epistemology, Philosophy of Religion, Teleological Arguments for Theism

Keywords: William Paley, arguments for God's existence, design arguments, philosophy of religion, teleological arguments

Expand entry: Added by: Emily Paul

Summary: This chapter takes you through the history of teleological arguments and an analysis of them: beginning with traditional teleological arguments and their origins, and moving to discuss modern day 'fine tuning' and 'many worlds' arguments. Along the way, Garcia considers criticisms of these various arguments.

Comment: An excellent and thorough introduction to the Teleological Argument, suitable for an introductory philosophy of religion course as a core reading. It could be good to ask students to compare classical 'design' arguments with 'fine-tuning' arguments, based on their reading of Garcia.

Difficulty: Easy-Intermediate

Recommended use: Overview

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