It were requisite that we had experience of the origin of worlds and it is not sufficient, surely, that we have seen ships and cities arise from human art and contrivance.”īut Cleanthes is unconvinced. But is a very small part of nature a rule for the universe? The objects, as in the present case, are single, individual, without parallel, or specific resemblance. He sarcastically exclaims, “Admirable conclusion! Stone, wood, brick, iron, brass, have not, at this time, in this minute globe of earth, an order or arrangement without human art and contrivance therefore the universe could not originally attain its order and arrangement, without something similar to human art. In this case, Philo argues that such a comparison is weak. The strength of the argument therefore rests upon the strength of the similarity between the universe and finely tuned machines. In other words, the argument presumes the universe to be analogous to a finely tuned machine. He classifies the argument as an argument by analogy. Philo immediately raises an objection to this argument. Experience, therefore, proves, that there is an original principle of order in mind, not in matter.” But the ideas in a human mind, we see, by an unknown, inexplicable economy, arrange themselves so as to form the plan of a watch or house. Stone, and mortar, and wood, without an architect, never erect a house. “Throw several pieces of steel together, without shape or form they will never arrange themselves so as to compose a watch. Premise 2: All finely tuned machines are created by an intelligent designer.Ĭonclusion: The Universe is created by an intelligent designer. Premise 1: The Universe resembles a finely tuned machine. The “Argument from Design” can be presented in the following syllogism: This argument is now known as the “Argument from Design.” Cleanthes, on the other hand, claims that the nature of God is discoverable by examining the order and design of the Universe. Both Demea and Philo believe that we cannot understand the nature of God because it is beyond our capacity to do so. And Cleanthes represents the modern Theist. Philo represents the philosophical skeptic. There are three interlocutors in Hume’s Dialogues – Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes. In this video, we will explore Hume’s thoughts on whether God is intelligent and whether God is morally good. In the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume identifies what we can know about the nature of God.
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