According to the teleological argument, the order and complexity exhibited by the world are properly attributed to a purposive cause rather than a blind, undirected process. Historically, in looking for evidence of purpose, the argument has focused on the world as a whole, its laws, and structures within the world (notably life). The teleological argument has two recent incarnations. One employs the Anthropic Principle and focuses on the fine-tuning or "just-so" aspects of the physical universe required for human observers. The other constitutes a revival of design-theoretic reasoning in biology and is known under the rubric "intelligent design."

See also DESIGN

WILLIAM A. DEMBSKI