Author:
FENG Zilian, Associate Researcher, Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Abstract:
The design argument is a central issue in science-religion debates. Thomas Aquinas was one of the first to rigorously present this argument as proof of God's existence, while William Paley introduced the famous analogy of the watchmaker. David Hume criticized such analogical arguments but his criticisms failed to hit the mark, because the watchmaker analogy offered complexity as an indicator of intelligent design. The true challenge to the design argument came with Darwin's theory of evolution, as natural selection could also account for complexity. However, evolution only beings to diverge from design theory when it comes to teleology. Aristotle considered "telos" as the "best end", Design theory implies teleology, but evolution has no end, and does not aim at some perfect phenotype. According to Richard Dawkins, natural selection is merely a blind watchmaker. Daniel Dennett argued for the rationality of discussing natural design from an intentional stance, yet the intentional stance can only be explained from the design stance and the physical stance. Dawkins, on the other hand, pointed out that religion can be seen as a byproduct of the evolution of the intentional stance. Intelligent design theory still exists in the United States, and the naturalistic presuppositions of evolution that it challenges requires further philosophical exploration.
Keywords:
Intelligent Design, Natural Selection, Teleology, Intentional Stance, Naturalism
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