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 the teleological argument for the existence of God asserts that, as there is evidence of purpose in nature, this must be due to an intelligent cause.

From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by W. T. (Walter Terence) Stace

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 C. M. Williams

The order in nature cannot be used as the basis of a teleological argument; what we call order of nature is necessity as distinguished from chance.

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

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

From Thoughts on Religion by Charles Gore

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