The world order, Philosophy, Theodicy of Educational applications

4. The world order

1. Newton, Plato and Voltaire

For Newton the best prove of God existence is the world order. He liked to repeat Plato’s words:

- You deduce that I have an intelligent soul because you notice order in my words and actions: therefore conclude when it comes to contemplate the order ruling in this world, that there is also a supremely intelligent soul, that there is a God.

This point was also made by Voltaire. He said that it was necessary to be a fool to hope a watch is not a proof of the watchmaker as same as world is not a proof of the existence of a God. Voltaire pointed his finger at a watch hanging on the wall and exclaimed:

- The more I think of it, the less can understand how this watch runs if a watchmaker did not made it!

(Painting: Retrato alegórico de Dante. Anónimo italiano. Galería Nacional de Arte. Washington)

A. Answer with one word

1. The best prove is the order of:
2. Plato had a soul:
3. He was intelligent because there was order in his:
4. A watch shows the existence of a:
5. The world order proves the existence of a:
6. Voltaire pointed his finger at:

2. The order in the universe

There is no effect without a cause. There is no order in the universe without an intelligent being who orders it. If you put on the table one million paper cut out letters and stir them thoroughly, could you obtain the words and sentences of a good book? Of course, not. And if the parts of a watch are put in a box and combined them completely, could you achieve a watch telling the right time? That is only possible to achieve by the patient work of a watchmaker.

There is a perfect order in the universe: everything is in its place and the stars move with praiseworthy precision. Day follows night, again and again. The succession of the seasons automatically recurs each year with a wonderful order. This order means a superior intelligence arranging everything.

(Painting: El jardín de Edén. Anónimo de Alemania. Museo de Frankfurt).

B. Answer with one word

1. There is no effect without:
2. An intelligent being is necessary to:
3. It is impossible to get a book with letters:
4. The jumbled parts of a watch will not tell us:
5. To keep working a watch you need a:
6. In the universe there is an order:

3. Chance

Some people argue that the world order is a product of chance. But chance, as a combination of circumstances you cannot foresee nor avoid, it is not an efficient cause to produce any effect. It is rather a word invented for explaining certain effects, whose causes are unknown.

Other people attribute the world order to the forces and laws of nature. Unquestionably there are remarkable laws in the universe that rule the visible world, such as attraction, weight, centrifugal force and others. Science studies all of that. But these laws mean the existence of a legislator. Who enacts those laws? Who maintains them? Who rules them?

The matter is essentially inert, inactive, ineffective and infertile. Therefore it is moved by a being different from itself, an intelligent being who rules it, because everything goes in a perfect order.

(Painting: Creación de los animales. MASTER, Beltran. Kunsthalle. Hamburgo)

C. Chose the right answer:

1. Some people say that order is an effect of:
2. There are circumstances that you cannot foresee nor:
3. Chance is a word:
4. Other people talk about the laws of:
5. Laws mean the existence of a:
6. Matter is essentially:

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®Arturo Ramo García.-Record of intellectual property of Teruel (Spain) No 141, of 29-IX-1999
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