PHIL 2010H Lecture 25: PhilosophyNotesApril12
3 May 2017
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Chunks of matter do not naturally form themselves into objects useful for human beings, such as knives or watches. Thus, the order and purposeful adjustment of means to end in an artifact is caused by the intelligent mind of its maker, not by the matter of which it is made. Experience thus shows us that order and purpose are characteristics of mind, not matter. From similar effects we can infer similar causes. Nature has superb order and purposeful adjustment of means to ends, just like an artifact. Conclusion: the cause of natural order and purposeful adjustment of means to ends must be a god with a superhumanly intelligent and purposeful mind. The argument from design requires us to take the example of human artifact making as a model for the origin of nature. But human beings are only one very tiny part of nature. The analogy is not actually supported by experience.
