♥ Queen of Hearts
the teleological family
The Argument from the Frame of the World
Isaac Newton
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Principia)

DemonstrativeConcludes that something exists.
- Argument form
- Disjunctive syllogism (laws, mechanical causes, or counsel; the first two eliminated)
- Concludes to
- Intelligent agent (an intelligent and powerful Being acting by counsel and dominion)
- Premise ground
- Metaphysical (so regular an arrangement arises from law, mechanism, or counsel — P4 exhaustive)
- Modal strength
- Actual
- What it licenses
- Period
- Eighteenth Century (1713, General Scholium)
- Tradition
- Natural theology (Newtonian)
Further reading
- Source text, public domain
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematicabim_eighteenth-century_philosophiae-naturalis-p_newton-sir-isaac_1713.pdf - A scholarly account
Read an exposition of the argument - A principal objection
Read the objection in full
This formulation is ours, composed from the primary source and compressed to fit the card; the argument admits of other statements. Objections have been made to every argument in the deck; where one is linked above, it is chosen by us, not written by us.
ergocards.com/frame
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