--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you come to look into this argument…" description: "\"“When you come to look into this argument from design, it is a most astonishing thing that people can believe that this world, with all the things that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/bertrand-russell-69_argument-from-design_when-you-come-to-look-into-this-argument_2311782.jpg" --- # When you come to look into this argument from design, it… ![“When you come to look into this argument from design, it is a most astonishing thing that people can believe that this world, with all the things that are in it, with all its defects, should be the best that omnipotence and omniscience have been able to produce in millions of years. I really…” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/bertrand-russell-69_argument-from-design_when-you-come-to-look-into-this-argument_2311782.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/bertrand-russell-69_argument-from-design_when-you-come-to-look-into-this-argument_2311782.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/483/bertrand-russell-69_argument-from-design_when-you-come-to-look-into-this-argument_2311782.jpg) > ““When you come to look into this argument from design, it is a most astonishing thing that people can believe that this world, with all the things that are in it, with all its defects, should be the best that omnipotence and omniscience have been able to produce in millions of years. I really cannot believe it. Do you think that, if you were granted omnipotence and omniscience and millions of years in which to perfect your world, you could produce nothing better than the Ku Klux Klan or the Fascists? Moreover, if you accept the ordinary laws of science, you have to suppose that human life and life in general on this planet will die out in due course: it is a stage in the decay of the solar system; at a certain stage of decay you get the sort of conditions of temperature and so forth which are suitable to protoplasm, and there is life for a short time in the life of the whole solar system. You see in the moon the sort of thing to which the earth is tending -- something dead, cold, and lifeless.”” [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The argument challenges the idea that an all-powerful, all-knowing creator would produce a world containing great evil and eventual decay, suggesting such a world is incompatible with divine perfection. **In simple terms:** A perfect creator wouldn't make a world with terrible evil and inevitable death. Key Takeaway Question divine perfection when faced with evil and cosmic decay. Themes theodicy philosophy science mortality evil Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type philosophical theological scientific When to use this quote - Debates on religion - ethical discussions - science education - philosophical lectures - theological critiques Key Concepts Omnipotence omniscience evolution cosmology entropy Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile suffering with belief in a benevolent creator? - Can a universe with decay still reflect a higher purpose? 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Do you think that, if you were granted omnipotence and omniscience and millions of years in which to perfect your world, you could produce nothing better than the Ku Klux Klan or the Fascists? Moreover, if you accept the ordinary laws of science, you have to suppose that human life and life in general on this planet will die out in due course: it is a stage in the decay of the solar system; at a certain stage of decay you get the sort of conditions of temperature and so forth which are suitable to protoplasm, and there is life for a short time in the life of the whole solar system. 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