Although explicated on many occasions and by many different authors, the teleological argument for the existence of God provides the best springboard from which to launch contemporary convictions of faith. In the revised edition of his earlier The Existence of God, Richard Swinburne constructs a solid outline that reveals the exact structure of the teleological argument. He presents both forms of the teleological argument , holds each under the light of skeptical review and then provides insight and defense that allows for careful philosophical review.Swinburne begins his outline of the teleological argument by identifying its two forms: ‘regularities of co-presence’ and ‘regularities of succession.’ Regularities of co-presence, according to Swinburne, might be “a town with all its roads at right angles to each other, or a section of books in a library arranged in alphabetical order of authors;” Regularities of succession are “simple patterns of behavior of objects, such as their behavior in accordance with the laws of nature – for example, Newton’s laws.” The distinction between regularities of co-presence and regularities of succession becomes pivotal in the ultimate dissection of this argument. The version identified by regularities of co-presence lends itself well to the defense of theism; unfortunately, it also lends itself well to total dismantlement. This particular version of the argument being the one studied almost exclusively by eighteenth century thinkers follows a very natural and uncomplicated path.Swinburne demonstrates the natural and uncomplicated path by suggesting that “animals and plants have the power to reproduce their kind, and so, given the past existence of animals and plants, their present existence is to be expected. But what is vastly surprising is the existence of animals and plants at all. By natural processes they can only come into...
