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Paley Vs. Hume And The Existence Of God

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Paley Vs. Hume And The Existence Of God
Argumentative Essay: Paley vs. Hume and the existence of a higher being Criticism of religious theories and practices is clearly valid and necessary. After all, what caused Jesus’s crucifixion was likely his disapproval of the resistance against his practices and beliefs. Accordingly, religious criticism is certainly more effective if it is respectful rather than dismissiveness, as it has the potential to elicit meaningful dialogue. While some claim that we come from cells that evolved into organisms, others argue that humans are primitive, and that science poses a better explanation to evolution than a fictional higher being. The argument of the former, however, is that if the earth came from a cell, that cell had to come from somewhere …show more content…
Paley’s Natural Theology (1802) presents his argument that if a watch is found in a field, it would be intelligent to assume that someone made it, not that it was a natural occurrence (New World Encyclopedia, 2018). As such, he felt the appearance of design was powerful creation evidence. Using the analogy of a watch and the watchmaker, Paley proposed evidence that the universe includes order and design, and thus a Designer (Paley, 1802). Accordingly, he pursued an argument based on the idea that reason is enough to explain his beliefs, as well as many arguments of Christianity. In simple words, the “watchmaker analogy” refers to the idea that if a found watch proves the existence of a watchmaker, the universe should thus prove the existence of a higher being. To him, if anything that has parts organized to serve a purpose is designed, and nature contains things which have parts that are organized to serve a purpose, nature certainly is designed. Consequently, assuming that nature was designed by a mind that is distinct from nature, such mind, or a higher being, …show more content…
Knight, 1845, pp. 1–19.

Gould, Paul. “C.S. Lewis, the Moral Argument for God, and the Gospel.” Paul Gould, 19 Dec. 2012, www.paul-gould.com/2012/12/19/c-s-lewis-the-moral-argument-for-god-and-the-gospel/.

Godwin, Simon J. “Philosophy of Religion.” Scandalon, www.scandalon.co.uk/philosophy/teleological_hume.htm.

Lorkowski, C M. “David Hume: Religion.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018, www.iep.utm.edu/hume-rel/.

New World Encyclopedia contributors. “William Paley.” William Paley - New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia, 18 Mar. 2015, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/William_Paley.

Speaks, Jeff. “Hume’s Criticism of the Design Argument.” www.nd.edu, 24 Jan. 2006, pp. 1–5., www3.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/mcgill/201/Hume-Dialogues.pdf.

“Teleological Argument.” Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, by David Hume, Hafner Publishing Co., 1948, pp.
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