Description:
The teleological argument has received a resurgence in recent years. This is thanks to cosmological data which appears to offer new evidence to indicate that the existence of life is the result of contrivance in the face of staggering improbability. Richard Swinburne argues that cosmic fine-tuning gives us good evidence to believe in the creator God of classical theism, who has good reasons to create human agents. I assess Swinburne’s use of the “principle of simplicity” as a criterion for selecting the best explanation in this particular case, arguing that it is not as compelling as Swinburne claims.