Explore different ideas about analogy in the design argument for the existence of God. (8 marks) The design argument for the existence of God is largely based upon the idea that the cumulative effect of all of the order and purpose that exists within the universe is proof that it could not have come about by chance, it must have been designed and the only thing powerful enough to do this is God. An analogy is a comparison between something that we know and understand to that which we are seeking to explain. The first form of the design argument is analogical and the comparisons are drawn between the universe and/or its parts and objects of human design. The most famous analogical form of the argument is William Paley’s watchmaker analogy. Paley asks people to consider that if they found a watch then its complexity would convince them that it had not simply gotten here by itself, but that it had been designed. Paley explained the complexities of the watch as being the way it followed an orderly pattern, eg all the cogs and springs were fitted together, and that this pattern had a purpose, eg the cogs and springs work together to enable the watch to tell the time. Paley argued that it would be inconceivable to believe that something as complex as a watch was the result of some random process, it must have a designer. Paley then applied this to the universe on the basis that it was significantly more complex and so therefore it would only be logical to imagine that it too must have a designer. Paley’s analogy was modernised by David Hunt who devised the parable of the shipwreck in which two survivors are stranded on a island that contains a fully functioning factory which convinces one of them, due to the order and purpose of the factory that it must have been designed. Hunt’s argument seeks to demonstrate that the idea that the factory was designed is far more credible than, ‘It just happened by chance over who knows how many billions of years.’

Explore different ideas about analogy in the design argument for the existence of God. (8 marks) Clarify key ideas Design argument uses order and purpose What an analogy is and how it is used in the design argument? Brief outline of Paley’s watch analogy Watch shows order and purpose Watch is too complex not to have a designer Universe is more complicated than a watch – must have a designer Hunt’s shipwreck parable Design more likely than chance Note – the answer does not devote too much time to retelling each analogy as this is not what marks are awarded for.