or teleological argument
Argument for the existence of God.
According to one version: The universe as a whole is like a machine; machines have intelligent designers; like effects have like causes; therefore, the universe as a whole has an intelligent designer, which is God. The argument was propounded by medieval Christian thinkers, especially St. Thomas Aquinas , and was developed in great detail in the 17th and 18th centuries by writers such as Samuel Clarke (16751729) and at the beginning of the 19th century by William Paley . It was powerfully criticized by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion . Immanuel Kant also rejected the argument.