Philosophy · Year 12

Active learning ideas

Ontological Arguments for the Existence of God

Begin by showing a complex natural object, like a peacock feather or a diagram of the human eye, and ask students to brainstorm words that describe it, guiding them towards ideas of complexity, purpose, and design.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• AQA A-Level Philosophy: Section 4.1 - Metaphysics of God - Arguments for the existence of God: Ontological arguments

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Socratic Seminar
• 45 min · Small Groups

Hume's Courtroom

Assign students roles: Paley's legal team, Hume's prosecution team, and a jury. The teams present their arguments and cross-examine each other regarding the watch analogy, after which the jury deliberates and delivers a verdict on the argument's success.

Explain Anselm's first formulation of the ontological argument.

Facilitation Tip

Provide the jury with a clear rubric to guide their evaluation of the arguments presented.

What to look for

Students write two paragraphs comparing the strengths of Paley's analogy with the weaknesses identified by Hume.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Socratic Seminar
• 30 min · Pairs

Design a Universe

In pairs, students are given a set of 'cosmic parameter' cards (e.g., strength of gravity, rate of expansion). They must decide if the specific combination they have would support life and argue whether their universe appears 'designed' or is one of many random chances.

Analyse Gaunilo's 'perfect island' objection and Kant's critique that 'existence is not a predicate'.

Facilitation Tip

Use this activity to bridge the discussion from Paley's biological argument to modern fine-tuning arguments.

What to look for

A timed essay answering a past A-Level question, such as 'To what extent does the theory of evolution fatally undermine the design argument?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Jigsaw
• 40 min · Small Groups

Criticism Jigsaw

Divide students into 'expert' groups, each focusing on one criticism (Hume's, Darwin's, the problem of evil). They then re-form into new groups with one expert from each area to teach their peers, creating a comprehensive overview of the challenges.

Evaluate the overall strength of ontological arguments as proofs for God's existence.

Facilitation Tip

Encourage students to create a one-page summary of their expert topic to aid their teaching.

What to look for

Students use a 'confidence tracker' to rate their understanding of each key thinker (Aquinas, Paley, Hume, Darwin) and the main concepts (analogy, fine-tuning).

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with the intuitive power of Paley's watch analogy as it is highly accessible. Use Hume's criticisms to methodically break down the logic of analogy, forcing students to think more critically. Then, introduce Darwin as a scientific game-changer before pivoting to modern fine-tuning arguments to demonstrate how the debate has evolved beyond simple biology.

Upon completing this topic, students will be able to critically deconstruct both classical and modern design arguments, weighing their merits against significant philosophical and scientific challenges.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• The design argument is just Paley's watch analogy.

  Paley's watch is a famous version, but the design argument is a family of arguments. It includes Aquinas's argument from 'telos' (purpose) and modern 'fine-tuning' arguments based on the physical constants of the universe.

• Darwin's theory of evolution completely disproves all design arguments.

  Evolution by natural selection provides a powerful scientific alternative to explain biological complexity, effectively refuting Paley's argument. However, it does not address modern design arguments based on the fine-tuning of the universe's physical laws, which are compatible with evolution.

• The anthropic principle proves that God designed the universe for us.

  The anthropic principle is an observation that the universe's conditions must be compatible with our existence. The 'strong' version interprets this as evidence for design, but the 'weak' version argues it's a tautology: we could not observe the universe if it were otherwise, so it's not surprising we find ourselves in a life-sustaining one.

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Methods used in this brief

• Socratic Seminar
• Jigsaw