teleological argument

American  

noun

Metaphysics.

1. the argument for the existence of God based on the assumption that order in the universe implies an orderer and cannot be a natural feature of the universe.

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teleological argument British  

noun

1. Also called: argument from design. philosophy the argument purporting to prove the existence of God from empirical facts, the premise being that the universe shows evidence of order and hence design Compare ontological argument cosmological argument

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teleological argument

Thomas Aquinas’s Five Ways is known as a teleological argument for the existence of God from the presence of design in experience.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

And, whether Theism and Christianity be true or false, it is certain that the teleological argument alone ought to result, not in conviction, but in agnosticism.

From Thoughts on Religion by Charles Gore

His great defect was in not perceiving that this teleological argument, per se, is not in either case enough to convince, but only to arouse serious attention.

From Thoughts on Religion by Charles Gore

It is in its place in the teleological argument, and stands well, though it may not behave as well as the living limb.

From Christianity and Greek Philosophy or, the relation between spontaneous and reflective thought in Greece and the positive teaching of Christ and His Apostles by B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) Cocker

But, looking to the "present state of our knowledge," this is merely to change the teleological argument from its gross Paleyerian form, into the argument from the ubiquitous operation of general laws.

From A Candid Examination of Theism by George John Romanes