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Theism and the philosophy of nature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2006

BENJAMIN S. CORDRY
BENJAMIN S. CORDRY
Affiliation:
Arts and Humanities Division, Lorain County Community College, Elyria, OH 44035
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Abstract

In this paper I argue that traditional theism, in its theory, history, and practice has implications for the philosophy of nature. Namely, nature should be designed around aesthetic or meaningful principles and nature should be engineered in order to fulfil a fairly well defined set of purposes. If theism is true, we should be able to study nature objectively as a teleological system. After all, the teleological structure of nature is more important to us as spiritual beings than its mechanisms. Since a teleological philosophy of nature is no longer viable, traditional theism is untenable.

Type
Research Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 273 - 290
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

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