Please summarise FR Tennant's Aesthetic argument

FR Tennant (in his book Philosophical theology 1930) posits two arguments. The aesthetic argument and the anthropic argument. The aesthetic argument is based on a human being's appreciation of beauty in the universe such as our appreciation of art, music, literature and other beautiful things. Darwin's natural selection and theory of 'survival of the fittest' does not explain our appreciation of such beauty in nature. FR Tennant argues that God's existence is probable and states 'Nature is not just beautiful in places; it is saturated with beauty.' A lovely quote in my opinion. So to sum up. The aesthetic argument notes how the universe possesses a natural beauty beyond that which is neccessary to live and therefore cannot be explained by Darwin's evolution in his book The origin of species.

WM
Answered by Will M. Religious Studies tutor

15983 Views

See similar Religious Studies A Level tutors

Related Religious Studies A Level answers

All answers ▸

What do the two Genesis stories tell us about creation and about how we should read the Bible?


Explain Paley’s design argument and explain why Dawkins rejects design arguments


'Kant's ethical theory has serious weaknesses.' Discuss. [10]


Examine why there are different Christian views about the place of women in Christianity (AQA, June 2018)


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning