How has the teleological argument of philosophy influenced society and the way people view themselves?
The teleological argument is a philosophical argument that tries to derive the existence God from the design, structure, or purpose of the universe. For example, because the universe works like a machine and a machine must have been created by an intelligent person, then the universe must have been created by an intelligent being, which they call God. I want to what exactly is the teleological argument’s affect on culture, society, or the way people view themselves.
By: bulker23
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Filed under Philosophy by on Jan 14th, 2010. 
Comments on How has the teleological argument of philosophy influenced society and the way people view themselves?
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I think the teleological argument fails because it cannot supply any concrete proof and relies solely on subjective experience and opinion. One’s “purpose” could be another’s madness, i.e the universe can be seen by one as beautiful and perfectly structured, and can be seen by others as cold, forbidding, and largely devoid of life. To one it may be a symphony and to another it is a chaotic place full of collisions, and burning stars, quasars, that really give us no meaning or necessity
While it fails to prove God’s existence, it does provide reason to believe that the existence of a higher power is not entirely illogical. It has influenced many to “humanize” the universe and think of it almost as a humanly created system
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Wars have been fought, people obey rules they might not otherwise listen to. A lot of things have been affected by the teleological view of philosophy, a lot has been done in the name of the divine command.
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Ahhh logic……. ARGH! ! LOGIC………
GOD HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH LOGIC
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Just where is that intelligent manifested? In the real world or does it float in in space with a non record of oblivion? I really wonder what existence without a body is like…
We just could not “teleo” from nothing, and if that is an exception with God, then God is not logical in the normal sense. That’s the problem.
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I don’t think it was an argument that came from philosophy and rooted into society. I think a certain teleological conception was already in the Volksgeist when the first philosophers began theorizing.
If you want an extreme and questionable opinion on this subject, check Karl Popper’s “Open society and its enemies.” He thinks that historical and teleological conceptions were the cause of Communist and **** totalitarianisms.