THE TELEOLOGICAL PROOF OF GOD

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1 ) Cleanthes argues that the existence of God and His similarity to men could be observed in the nature of men 's inventions and used machines as a particular example of this proof . He related that machines are made up of other lesser machines , which in turn are made up of subdivisions to a degree beyond what human senses and faculties can trace and explain (Hume 119 . Cleanthes ' argument is a posteriori as he concludes the existence of God and His similarity to human beings by arguing

that the nature of the universe - that it is one great machine comprising of several lesser machines working together - is similar to that of the inventions of man . Hence , the Author ' of the universe must have worked and thought the same as humans have in their inventions

Philo may have found Cleanthes ' argument plausible but stated that it requires more than comparing the similarities of the system of men 's inventions to the system of nature to prove the existence of God and his similarities to humans . He stated that such analogies are liable to error and uncertainty citing similar instances where people who have obeyed the same analogy to prove similar instances in a different situation have been proven to be mistaken by more accurate experiments

Philo disputed Cleanthes ' argument , stating that one can never assume with certainty the existence and purpose of the whole from merely observing its parts . Operations of the part could not , according to...