Philosophy of Religion Lecture 1: Intro & The Argument from Design

1. Philosophy of ReligionLecture 1: Intro & The Argument from Design Dan Weijers PHIL104-2011

2. What We’re NOT Asking • Theological questions: • Usually presuppose that God exists • Descriptive Questions: • What political and social structures influenced the rise of Scientology

3. The Main Question • For the next 6 lectures, we are trying to answer the question: • Is there a good justification for believing in the existence of God (or for not believing)?

4. Basic Vocab(ulary) • Theist • believes there is a God • Atheist • believes there is no God • Agnostic • Isn’t sure if God exists • Perhaps hasn’t even thought about it

5. You are Not Alone • Participants: 172 students in PHIL104 (2008)

6. Advanced Vocab(ulary) • Main Question: Is there a good justification for believing in the existence of God? • Existence • God • Justification

7. Justification • To say that one is justified in believing something is just to say that I have good reason to believe it • Theoretical reasons • Practical reasons

8. Some Arguments to Avoid • Faith • We want justification • Religious experience • E.g. the magically fat finger • Religions are made up • Irrelevant • Science proves there’s no God • No it doesn’t

9. William Paley (1743-1805) • Watches appear to be designed, so they probably have a designer • The same goes for natural things • God probably exists because he probably designed natural things

10. How did the watch come to be? • It’s so complex • All of it’s complex parts seem to serve minor functions that allow the whole watch to do something useful • It appears designed

11. The Appearance of Design An object appears to be designed if: • It is structurally complex, • It has a purpose or function, and • It has the purpose it does in virtue of its structural complexity. • Watches really do appear to be designed!

12. Paley’s Argument - Watches (P1) Watches appear to have been designed. (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that watches have been designed. (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation: If an hypothesis H is the best explanation of an observation O, then it is rational to believe that H is true. (C) Therefore, one should believe that watchmakers exist.

13. The Best Explanation? • A good theory should: • Minimize the entities it requires • Be consistent with the evidence • Make reliable predictions • Minimise the unexplained coincidences • Be simple and elegant

14. What is the Best Explanation for Watches? • The Knight Watchman’s dog spews watches all over the place and watch-sellers find them and sell them • Have you ever met a watchmaker?

15. Watchmakers Exist • Even if we have never met one, Paley thinks we do and should believe in watchmakers because of watches • Because watches really do appear to have been designed… • Which gives us good reason to think that they have been designed

16. Paley’s Argument - Watches (P1) Watches appear to have been designed. (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that watches have been designed. (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation: If an hypothesis H is the best explanation of an observation O, then it is rational to believe that H is true. (C) Therefore, one should believe that watchmakers exist.

17. Paley’s Argument - Nature (P1) Many natural things appear to have been designed (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that many natural things have been designed (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation (P4) Therefore, one should believe that a designer of natural things exists (P5) God is the designer of natural things (C) Therefore, one should believe that God exists

18. Next Time • More on the argument from design, including the fine-tuning argument • Read: • A scientific Argument for the Existence of God: The Fine-Tuning Design Argument by Collins

19. Philosophy of ReligionLecture 2: More on the Argument from Design Dan Weijers PHIL104-2011

20. Today • Recap of Paley’s argument • Are eyes designed? • Science: “no” • The fine-tuning variant of the design argument • The chances of a universe evolving that supports intelligent life is tiny • So, God probably fine-tuned/designed the universe

21. Recap • Paley argues that the existence of watches (which have the appearance of design) give us reason to believe in purposeful watchmakers • And the same goes for many natural things • God, designs and makes natural things

22. Are Natural Objects Designed? • Some certainly appear to be so • The eye is structurally complex, • It has a purpose or function, and • It has the purpose it does in virtue of its structural complexity.

23. Eye Example of the Argument (P1) Eyes appear to have been designed (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that eyes have been designed (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation (P4) Therefore, one should believe that a designer of eyes exists (P5) God is the designer of natural things (including eyes) (C) Therefore, one should believe that God exists

24. What is the Best Explanation for this Appearance? • Eyes do appear to be designed (P1) • Is the best explanation for this that eyes have been designed? (P2) • Theories are better if they…?

25. Evolution by Natural Selection • Darwin: natural objects will evolve to bear the marks of design if the following four conditions are met: • There is randomvariation among the object’s inherited traits and those traits help the object to compete

26. But the Eye? Really!?! • "To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances… could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."  Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species • The eye gave him a “cold shudder”

27. Yes, It Could Have Evolved! • Reason tells me, that despite it being hard to imagine, many subtle random changes exposed to the pressure of selection over time can lead to the evolution of a perfect and complex eye from a simple and imperfect one. Furthermore, there exist examples of the steps along the way. Paraphrase of Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species • From the same page!!

28. Dawkins on How to Climb Mount Improbable • How can we get to (explain) the eye on top of Mount Improbable? • To get to the eye in one leap is impossible • But, if we take lots of slow steps, then Climbing Mount Improbable Doesn’t seem that hard

29. Light-sensitive cells • Information sent to brain • Pin-hole camera and Lens for focusing • Etc

30. Eye Example of the Argument (P1) Eyes appear to have been designed (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that eyes have been designed (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation (P4) Therefore, one should believe that a designer of eyes exists (P5) God is the designer of natural things (including eyes) (C) Therefore, one should believe that God exists

31. Paley’s Argument - Nature (P1) Many natural things appear to have been designed (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that many natural things have been designed (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation (P4) Therefore, one should believe that a designer of natural things exists (P5) God is the designer of natural things (C) Therefore, one should believe that God exists

32. Halfway Summary • Evolution is a very good explanation for eyes • It makes great predictions

33. The Fine-Tuning Argument (P1) The universe appears to have been designed (P2) The best explanation for this appearance of design is that the universe has been designed (P3) Inference to the Best Explanation (P4) Therefore, one should believe that a designer of the universe exists (P5) God is the designer of the universe (C) Therefore, one should believe that God exists

34. If any of the many ‘laws’ of physics had been slightly different, then the universe could not sustain intelligent life If any the conditions around the big bang were slightly changed then this fairly stable universe would not have occurred Does the Universe Appear to be Designed 2?

35. The universe is structurally complex, It has a purpose or function (supporting intelligent life), and It has the purpose or function it does in virtue of its structural complexity. So P1 seems correct – the universe appears to be designed Does the Universe Appear to be Designed 3?

36. Best Explanation for the Universe’s Appearance of Design? • God made it • The universe can support life as we know it by chance • There are heaps of universes coming into existence all of the time, many fail, many don’t harbour life, but some are bound to in the end

37. Intergalactic Lotto • The odds of winning intergalactic lotto are 999 billion to 1 • Everyone is automatically enrolled • You win intergalactic lotto • Did chance or divine creation cause your win?

38. Best Explanation for the Universe’s Appearance of Design? • God-centered explanation postulates one more entity • The one-universe explanation involves lots of poorly explained coincidences • The many-universes explanation posits more entities

39. Next Time • The argument from evil • Read: • ‘Rebellion’ by Dostoevsky & • ‘Evil and Omnipotence’ by Mackie

40. Philosophy of ReligionLecture 3: The Argument from Evil Dan Weijers PHIL104-2011

41. Today • Terminology • Evil • God • Dostoevsky • Concluding that even if there is a reason for the evil, it’s probably not good enough • Mackie • Evil and God are logically incompatible

42. What is Evil? • All things equal, a state of affairs is evil if it involves the suffering of an innocent • The more suffering of innocents in any situation, the more evil it is • There can be other types of evil

43. Varieties of Evil • We can distinguish between the following kinds of evil: • Natural evil v. human evil • Necessary evil v. unnecessary evil • Mild evil v. horrendous evil

44. What is God? • God is, by definition, omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient • An individual x is omnibenevolent if and only if it is perfectly loving • (all good/perfectly good) • An individual x is omnipotent if and only if it can do anything • (all powerful) • An individual x is omniscient if and only if it knows everything • (all knowing)

45. The Argument from Evil (P1) If God exists, he is omnibenevolent, omnipotent and omniscient. [By Definition] (P2) An omnibenevolent being would prevent any unnecessary evil if she could and knew how. (P3) An omnipotent being could prevent all unnecessary evil. (P4) An omniscient being would know all about unnecessary evils and how to prevent them. (P5) Therefore, if God exists, there is no unnecessary evil. [From (P1), (P2), (P3) & (P4)] (P6) But there is unnecessary evil. [Evidential Premise] (C) Therefore, God does not exist. [From 5 & 6]

46. P6) Dostoevsky’s Examples of Unnecessary Horrendous Evil • A 5-y.o. girl is mistreated by her parents, beaten, forced to eat her own excrement etc. • A young boy is ripped apart by hounds in front of his mother • A soldier cuts an unborn baby out of it’s mother’s womb, throws it in the air and catches it with his bayonet

47. Is that Suffering Unnecessary? • Ivan discusses a few reasons why it might be considered necessary, but rejects them: • We need evil to understand good • Humans allowed evil by choosing free will • All humans must suffer for the mistakes of our ancestors • God has a plan which makes this suffering necessary for us all to share harmony in the end

48. We All Must Suffer for the Mistakes of our Ancestors • Adam needn’t have eaten the apple, but he did • This made him guilty, and • Us guilty too, since we are of him • Ivan: Our real-world sense of justice does not allow guilt to be inherited • Why does God allow it? • It doesn’t make sense to us

49. Mackie on Evil • Thinks the argument from evil shows that most forms of theism are internally inconsistent • Theists believe all of these 3: • God is all-powerful • God is all-good • There is evil in the world • But no more than 2 of these could be true at any one time

50. Mackie Considers Responses • He finds that all of them don’t fully work • They generally alter the definitions of the important terms