...In Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion we are introduced to three characters that serve the purpose to debate God and his nature, more specifically, what can mankind infer about God and his nature. Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by Davis Hume is a pretty heavy text full of many arguments each one with multiple sub arguments and countless premises. Aquina’s fifth argument for the existence of God is what has come to be called the Argument from Design. Just as the existence of a watch implies a watchmaker, the existence of the world implies an even greater designer: God. It is an ‘A posterior’ argument (from experience) based on our empirical senses and it is synthetic meaning that it is from observation. Saint Thomas Aquinas was a Catholic Priest in the Dominican Order and a very important medieval philosopher and theologian. He wrote a book, SummaTheologiae, presenting five proofs of God’s existence. Machines have purpose, regularity, and complexity and they require an intelligent designer In this essay, I will explore the merits and flaws of this viewpoint by quoting Aquinas, William Paley, Richard Swinburne, Mark Twain, Frederick Tennant and David Hume who contributed comprehensively to this idea. someone who thinks that all knowledge comes through experience), he thinks that a belief is rational only if it is sufficiently supported by experiential evidence. Nature also has purpose, regularity, and complexity The first part is forming a test for design and then putting nature through that test. The argument attempts to demonstrate that complexity, order and purpose are not attributes that can occur randomly, but must be implemented by a designer. He is the most imaginative in his arguments and quick to raise objections in debates. Standardization: In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Hume explores whether religious belief can be rational. Start studying Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Another would be of a rock falling and reaching its natural place. The three characters; Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes all engage in a debate concerning this question and they all serve the purpose of supporting their views on the subject. Some of the earliest known statements about the design... ...Facts or Beliefs- The Design Argument ...Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by Davis Hume is a pretty heavy text full of many arguments each one with multiple sub arguments and countless premises. Must rely on authority. The design argument is the argument for the existence of God based around the idea that the universe is designed and if it has been designed then there must have been a designer and therefore that designer must be God. Therefore, A design argument consists of an introduction that insists the universe possesses verifiable material and that it asserts intelligent design. ii) Comment on the view that the design argument provides coherent explanation for the universe. The design argument is an empirical argument from analogy; a... StudyMode - Premium and Free Essays, Term Papers & Book Notes. Cleanthes compares the surrounding world as one great "machine." These questions are at the heart of the endeavour of natural religion (known today as natural theology), and so are the subject David Hume’s posthumously published Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779). In this argument, Cleanthes is using analogy form to support his conclusion, which is a weak form of proving a point. Human reason is unreliable. Each of Aquina’s arguments begins with an observation that is supposed to be easily understood by everyone. To be honest if it was not for spark notes I would be even more lost for words than I am now. Natural Religion Cleanthes however, has a difficult time finding solid evidence to back up his claims relating to nature vs. machine. What effect does the existence of suffering have on Cleanthes' argument? All of God's attributes other than moral attributes are his natural attributes. ...Hume Just because you are a skeptic doesn’t mean you have to be atheist, Philo argues for skepticism through the whole dialogue by questioning everything Cleanthes and Demea have to say and by making speculative analogical arguments in defiance against those that Cleanthes or Demea make.