Paley's Argument From Design Argument

1. Briefly describe William Paley’s Argument from design. Explain how Darwinian evolution can be used to refute this argument. (5 pts)

The Teleological argument, given by William Paley in 1802 states that there is a “Designing Creator”, and that everything in this world has been designed to fulfill some sort of function. He bases this argument using a traditional time piece, a watch, as an analogy. Paley states that the watch, unlike a stone or a rock, could not have been placed or created by accident, and that the existence of a watch is proof that there must be a watchmaker. He compares this watch to the existence of the universe, stating that the universe itself is proof that there is some sort of designer present, and like a watch (but unlike a rock or stone) could not have been created by accident. He then continues to state that further evidence of a God can be found in the supposed “regularity” of the universe. Paley claims that due to the universe behaving in a very apparent manner, while retaining boundaries (Newtons laws of motion, etc) that this is a very apparent display of a God having rule over a very mechanical universe. Now Darwin on the other hand was a large

supporter (initially) of the intelligent design thinking of his day, so in turn he was a very large supporter of Paley. Yet as he grew older and began diving deeper into the theory of natural selection Darwin began to think that natural selection in turn, rendered design redundant. Darwin continued on to write, that “the old argument of design in nature as given by Paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that natural selection has been discovered” (Origin of Species, 431), so despite idolizing Paley initially as a “thinker” Darwin discovered that nature itself has fixed laws, and “like the hinge of a door by man; we can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been created by an intelligent being.” (431)

2. Provide a clear and concise explanation as to the reasons (You should provide three, although one or two may be most important.) why Darwin was reluctant to publish his views on evolution by means of natural selection. (10 pts)

The 23 year long wait to publish his theories could have stemmed from several different reasons, whether it being from a religious angle, or perhaps Darwin’s inability to deny the beliefs of his wife, but one reason does stand out. The time period that Darwin lived in, religion was incredibly influential and was accepted in the world without much conflict, but with Darwin, his theory carried severe religious implications. Stating that species evolve from one another seems to be the direct opposite from creation in Genesis. In Genesis, it was stated that God created the world, but in Darwin’s mind, everything in the world, from it’s creatures to the world itself evolved for millions of years. So with this it was clear that Darwin would be shaking the religious establishment. Secondly it seems that Darwin was unsure of his theory, thus resulting in a lack of self confidence and trust in his findings. Darwin seemed to fear that his theory would be taken as premature. This can be seen when it was shown that Darwin had initially formulated his hypothesis in 1838, and then decided that he was going to begin collecting facts to support his hypothesis, which took him twenty years. Thirdly, it seems that Darwin was hesitant of the potential backlash presenting this theory may bring with it, and granted this may be confused with the initial explanation that Darwin refused to publish his views, it is not. The initial and most important was that Darwin, with the publishing of his theory, would in turn deny Christianity and creationism, yet this reason differs in that, not only would Darwin receive backlash from Britain’s religious, but also from the scientific community as well. Granted that during this time frame the concept of “transmutation of species” was present, it was primarily rejected by many naturalists, despite several scientists of Darwin’s time debating whether animals evolved or not.

3. Despite a growing popularity in an evolutionary explanation for the diversity of life, Darwin’s theory of evolution was not well received. Provide two reasons for this occurrence. (5 pts)

Initial opposition of Darwin's theory came from the church. For those that prefer the stories of creation over modern science, the theory of humans sharing a common ancestor with apes or theorizing that the earth is much older then initially assumed can be a bit difficult to accept. Darwin argued that complex designs could come about without a designer/mind to guide it and in turn that resulted in a very negative reaction from the Christian church. Religion for the faithful gave the answers to the most basic questions, such as, “Where do we come from... Who made us.....etc...” and with Darwin’s theory, humans were removed from the center of the universe and placed back into nature and the primate family tree. Secondly, opposition stemmed from the scientific community. Scientists pointed out flaws in Darwin's theory, that in most cases, Darwin would agree with, for he found flaws that in his own theory that wouldn’t stand on their own. At the time Darwin was unable to become familiar with hereditary traits, that would later be discovered (DNA, Genetics, etc..) so it was assumed that Darwin’s theory would be torn apart by the scientific community (and it was) for it’s flaws and weak branches.

4. Does Darwin’s theory imply or suggest the non-existence of God? Explain (10 pts)

Initially if one were to take Darwin’s theory to heart, without educating oneself about the writer, than it would seem as though his theory did imply that there was no God. Yet once we’re able to look into the man known as Darwin, we’re able to see that even though he started out as a Christian Orthodox, by the time he published his theory, Darwin was more so found in an agnostic position in his later life. The definition of one that is Agnostic is stated as following, “A person who believes nothing is known or can be known of the existence of a God or of anything beyond material phenomena”. Now using this definition of an agnostic, one can assume that even though Darwin did not believe in Christianity anymore, that did not mean that he did not believe in a higher power. Yet answering the question, “Does his theory imply the non-existence of God”, the theory would in fact imply that there is no God. Through natural selection there is no need for a designer, nor is there a need for a “ruler”. Nature already has a set of rules that it must follow, whether it be due to physical restrictions, or ecological restrictions, it must follow the rules, again, no need for a ruler/designer. Yet there is the belief that can be taken from the “evolution vs creationism” argument that may suggest that they both coincide. Evolution, more so explains how life was able to reach it’s current point , yet it never is able to explain exactly why. Despite all of the findings of Darwin, evolution has not been able to say exactly why common descent chose that exact paths that it did. There is no reason to believe that God (or a God) was not the force that initiated evolution, thus resulting in both theory, and religion coexisting and supporting one another.

II. General Education Scientific Literacy (Outcome 8)

1. As you know, evolution is characterized as theory. What does this mean from a scientific perspective? How does the meaning of the word theory in science differ from its meaning in the American vernacular (common language? (5 pts) Outcome 8.2

In traditional American vernacular, theory is usually implied to mean some sort of ‘hunch’ or ‘speculation’, but it’s very different in science.

In science, a theory will refer to an explanation of an important feature of the world supported by testing and facts that have been gathered over time. It’s there scientific theories that allow scientists to make predictions about untested and unobserved concurrences in the world. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has this explanation of what a theory means to those in the science field, and it is as follows, “A scientific theory is a well substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts......Such fact supported theories are not guesses but reliable accounts of the real

world”.

2. What was the significance of Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population with regards to the development of Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection? (5 pts) Outcome 8.1

The significance of Malthus’ theory is that it was where Darwin had “first apprehended the basis for natural selection” (Darwin, Malthus, and the Theory of Natural Selection, 527) thus assisting in creating a much stronger foundation. Darwin used Malthus as an influence to enhance his writings of natural selection, despite Darwin already having a clear and explicit understanding of the struggle for existence well before his reading of Malthus’ work. What Malthus’ contributed was his mathematical breakdown of the principles Darwin was already familiar with. Despite Malthus’ work assisting in creating a stronger ‘initial’ for Charles, Darwin was “impressed only by Malthus’ arguments as to time, extent and numbers involved” (Vorzimmer, 528).