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

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

Our analysis of the development of thought, feeling, and will, has an important bearing on the teleological argument.

From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.

The most cogent argument for the intelligence of the world-ground, the teleological argument, is a hypothesis which has grave weaknesses, and one to which many other equally probable hypotheses may be opposed.

From History of Modern Philosophy From Nicolas of Cusa to the Present Time by Falckenberg, Richard

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 Gore, Charles

The physico-theological or teleological argument is what is often styled the argument from design.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 14 — Philosophy and Economics by Hammerton, John Alexander, Sir