The Design Argument: Demea, Cleanthes, And Philo

The design argument consists of the philosophies of God’s existence and his roll in this universe. Hume’s dialogues on Natural Religion have also influenced other philosophers to be intrigued over the design argument, and analogical reasoning. The main philosophers in his book that Hume’s considers their different positions and argues their points of view are; Demea, Cleanthes, and Philo. All three philosophers believe in God’s existence and creations, but each is somewhat skeptical. Demea is looking at his presence and works in more of an abstract theory. Demea argues that the proof of his existence is irrelevant because as humans we cannot mentally and physically understand God through reason. Cleanthes on the other hand thinks it makes sense to see God as the creator of all
Lastly Philo has a similar theory to Demea, he thinks the human mind is weak and deceiving, and he also does not try to understand the unknown and doesn't think the knowledge and understanding is obtainable. The purpose of the design argument is to investigate the proof on God's existence on earth and how and why he created the universe. The theories within try to investigate through nature that shows proof of design and creation. Analogical reasoning is the comparison between known and unknown to gain understanding of the new ideas, but the analogy must not be weak to uphold an argument. Cleanthes uses analogical reasoning to justify God's intelligent design. He claims to oversee the world as a well-oiled machine. Basically explaining that before you create a machine, you have to have a design in mind and a motive. In this quote he elaborates, “Look round the world: Contemplate the whole and every part of it: You will find it to be nothing but one great machine, subdivided into an infinite number of lesser machines … The curious adapting of means to end, throughout all nature, resembles exactly, though it