Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion, Essay Example

Choose one argument for the existence of God. Explain the argument, and describe why you think it is a strong or weak argument.

The Design Argument

This argument is based on the analogy that if one was to pick a watch, they would naturally be inclined to conclude that the watch had a maker or designer. It would be absurd to think that the watch came into existence owing to its complex design and function. This is widely referred to as Paley’s Watchmaker (Knavig). This argument is extended towards finding the source of life and existence. Humans are very complex creatures with a stratified internal body structures, such as the respiratory and blood system, that perform specific and specialized tasks. It is only logical to explain that these systems had a designer.

Inappropriate Analogy

I believe that this argument is weak and probably false. This is because the argument is founded on an analogy that is not applicable to finding the source of life. The argument is based on the analogy of the origin of a watch. This argument fails to consider that the source of watches is already known (Pojman and Rea). However, the source of life is unknown. This argument is therefore based on a fallacy that the source of life is already known. This clearly a fallacy that begs the question and is circular in nature. The conclusion that, “the source of life is already known” is included in the premise of the argument. This is a logically inherent argument as the assumption in the argument is much engrained, and in the mind of the author, has been taken as a given. The author has assumed that the point that is under discussion, the existence of God is real as are the designers and/makers of watches, is true.

Fallacy

This argument is based on an analogy that is fundamentally flawed by the fallacy engrained within its premise. The argument is based on the watch analogy. This analogy has numerous fallacies within its premise that render this argument not only unsupported, but also invalid. The analogy has the fallacy that begs the question. This is because the argument states that if watches have their makers, so does the universe. The argument erroneously answers the question of the existence of god by evading a direct answer to the question. The argument has failed to give the evidence that backs up the claim that God truly does exist. The logical fallacy that begs the question renders the argument invalid owing to the lack of evidence to back up the claim.

In conclusion, the argument is false in its premise. The argument is fundamentally flawed owing to the use of a misleading analogy, whose premise actually fails to give evidence to the claims made by the argument. Furthermore, the argument is also flawed by the fallacy engrained within its premise. The argument begs the question as opposed to answering the question of the existence of God. It is therefore weak and unsound.

Works Cited

Knavig, Johnathan L. Oxford studies in philosophy of religion. Volume 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

Pojman, Louis P and Micheal C Rea. Philosophy of religion : an anthology. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Zimbardo, Phillip G. The Stanford Prison Experiment. Austin: Austin ABC, 2000. Print.