The Argument from Design

The argument from design was a very popular argument for the existence of God during the eighteenth century. It held that the order and regularity we see in the world around us constitutes proof that the world was designed by an intelligent being. This being was often thought of as a "divine watchmaker," a kind of celestial engineer who "built" the "machine" which is our universe.

The argument from design was strongly refuted by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.