--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You all know the argument from design…" description: "\"“You all know the argument from design: everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in the world, and if the world was ever so l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/bertrand-russell-69_anthropocentrism_you-all-know-the-argument-from-design-ev_2235761.jpg" --- # You all know the argument from design: everything in the… ![“You all know the argument from design: everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in the world, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not manage to live in it. That is the argument from design. It sometimes takes a rather curious form; for instance, it is…” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/bertrand-russell-69_anthropocentrism_you-all-know-the-argument-from-design-ev_2235761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/bertrand-russell-69_anthropocentrism_you-all-know-the-argument-from-design-ev_2235761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a99/bertrand-russell-69_anthropocentrism_you-all-know-the-argument-from-design-ev_2235761.jpg) > ““You all know the argument from design: everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in the world, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not manage to live in it. That is the argument from design. It sometimes takes a rather curious form; for instance, it is argued that rabbits have white tails in order to be easy to shoot. I do not know how rabbits would view that application.”” [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 from design claims that the world’s features are finely tuned for life, implying purpose, but such reasoning can be absurd when applied to trivial traits. **In simple terms:** Design argument suggests purpose in nature, but can be silly. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about purpose in nature. Themes philosophy religion science logic Mood skeptical inquisitive analytical Type philosophical critical educational When to use this quote - debating religious claims - teaching philosophy - critiquing pseudoscience Key Concepts teleology anthropic principle misinterpretation Questions to Reflect On - Do all natural features imply design? - How does evolution explain apparent purpose? A Different Perspective It overlooks random variation and evolutionary explanations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropocentrism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropocentrism/) [Argued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argued/) [Argued Rabbits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argued-rabbits-5047383/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Argument Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-design-244081/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Instance Argued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance-argued-5047384/) [Rabbits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rabbits/) ## Related quotes > [The argument from design stands or falls on whether it can be demonstrated that some aspect of the universe such as its origin or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-j-stenger/the-argument-from-design-stands-or-falls-on-whether-it-can-be/) [Victor J. Stenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-j-stenger/) > [The argument from design is ultimately an appeal to miraculous causes, i.e., causes that do not, and cannot, occur in the natural course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/the-argument-from-design-is-ultimately-an-appeal-to-miraculous-causes/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/it-now-seems-to-me-that-the-findings-of-more-than-fifty-years-of-dna/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [For centuries the most powerful argument for God's existence from the physical world was the so-called argument from design: Living things are so beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/for-centuries-the-most-powerful-argument-for-god-s-existence-from-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Although I was once sharply critical of the argument to design, I have since come to see that, when correctly formatted, this argument constitutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/although-i-was-once-sharply-critical-of-the-argument-to-design-i-have/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [We do not make very full value of the opportunities provided by technology because we prefer critical to constructive thinking, argument to design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/we-do-not-make-very-full-value-of-the-opportunities-provided-by/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [The white tails of rabbits, according to some theologians, have a purpose, namely to make it easier for sportsmen to shoot them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-white-tails-of-rabbits-according-to-some-theologians-have-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The raw fruits of the earth were made for human sustenance. Even the white tails of rabbits, according to some theologians, have a purpose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-raw-fruits-of-the-earth-were-made-for-human-sustenance-even-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Civilized life, if it is to be stable, must provide a harmless outlets for the impulses which our remote ancestors satisfied in hunting. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/civilized-life-if-it-is-to-be-stable-must-provide-a-harmless-outlets/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Anthropocentrism is simply irrational. And yet this is the thrust of much of our traditional religious thought and teaching, particularly in the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-e-train/anthropocentrism-is-simply-irrational-and-yet-this-is-the-thrust-of/) [Russell E. Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-e-train/) > [“If God should really speak to man, man could still never know that it was God speaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/if-god-should-really-speak-to-man-man-could-still-never-know-that-it/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“In the twentieth century nothing can better cure the anthropocentrism that is the author of all our ills than to cast ourselves into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/in-the-twentieth-century-nothing-can-better-cure-the-anthropocentrism/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [We owe a huge debt to Galileo for emancipating us all from the stupid belief in an Earth-centered or man-centered (let alone God-centered) system.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-owe-a-huge-debt-to-galileo-for-emancipating-us-all-from-the-stupid/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [Anthropocentrism gave rise to boredom, and when anthropomorphism was replaced by technocentrism, boredom became even more profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anthropocentrism-gave-rise-to-boredom-and-when-anthropomorphism-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Bertrand Russell > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [All movements go too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/all-movements-go-too-far/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/such-in-outline-but-even-more-purposeless-more-void-of-meaning-is-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Dr. Arnold . . . the admired reformer of public schools, came across some cranks who thought it a mistake to flog boys. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/dr-arnold-the-admired-reformer-of-public-schools-came-across-some/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/aristotle-maintained-that-women-have-fewer-teeth-than-men-although-he/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-an-opinion-contrary-to-your-own-makes-you-angry-that-is-a-sign/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-escape-from-the-conclusion-that-the-great-ages-of-progress/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I think it would be just to say the most essential characteristic of mind is memory, using this word in its broadest sense to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-think-it-would-be-just-to-say-the-most-essential-characteristic-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The newspapers at one time said that I was dead but after carefully examining the evidence I came to the conclusion that this statement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-newspapers-at-one-time-said-that-i-was-dead-but-after-carefully/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic, because in arithmetic there is knowledge, but in theology there is only opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/persecution-is-used-in-theology-not-in-arithmetic-because-in/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of sceptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/many-orthodox-people-speak-as-though-it-were-the-business-of-sceptics/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is no greater reason for children to honour parents than for parents to honour children except, that while the children are young, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-greater-reason-for-children-to-honour-parents-than-for/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Explore all 1,620 Bertrand Russell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) ## More Anthropocentrism quotes > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [We owe a huge debt to Galileo for emancipating us all from the stupid belief in an Earth-centered or man-centered (let alone God-centered) system.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/we-owe-a-huge-debt-to-galileo-for-emancipating-us-all-from-the-stupid/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the twentieth century nothing can better cure the anthropocentrism that is the author of all our ills than to cast ourselves into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/in-the-twentieth-century-nothing-can-better-cure-the-anthropocentrism/) [Julio Cortázar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Anthropocentrism is simply irrational. And yet this is the thrust of much of our traditional religious thought and teaching, particularly in the West.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-e-train/anthropocentrism-is-simply-irrational-and-yet-this-is-the-thrust-of/) [Russell E. Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-e-train/) > [Anthropocentrism gave rise to boredom, and when anthropomorphism was replaced by technocentrism, boredom became even more profound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anthropocentrism-gave-rise-to-boredom-and-when-anthropomorphism-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If God should really speak to man, man could still never know that it was God speaking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/if-god-should-really-speak-to-man-man-could-still-never-know-that-it/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [I have a serious question." "I will give a serious answer." "Can a god be killed?" The humor drained from Roman's face. "Well, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-have-a-serious-question-i-will-give-a-serious-answer-can-a-god-be/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Humanity may destroy the possibilities for life on earth unless the freedom and power that we have acquired are channeled in new creative directions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-clark-rockefeller/humanity-may-destroy-the-possibilities-for-life-on-earth-unless-the/) [Steven Clark Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-clark-rockefeller/) > [ The biggest enemy we face is anthropocentrism. This is that common attitude that everything on this Earth was put here for \[human\] use. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-pianka/the-biggest-enemy-we-face-is-anthropocentrism-this-is-that-common/) [Eric Pianka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-pianka/) > [“In the discoveries of science the harmony of the spheres is also now the harmony of life. And as the eerie illumination of science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-denton/in-the-discoveries-of-science-the-harmony-of-the-spheres-is-also-now/) [Michael Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-denton/) > [“It necessarily follows that chance alone is at the source of every innovation, and of all creation in the biosphere. Pure chance, absolutely free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/it-necessarily-follows-that-chance-alone-is-at-the-source-of-every/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Anthropocentrism, regarding human kind as the very center and pinnacle of existence, is a disease of arrested development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fox/anthropocentrism-regarding-human-kind-as-the-very-center-and-pinnacle/) [Michael Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fox/) > [That which is called humanism, but what would be more correctly called irreligious anthropocentrism, cannot yield answers to the most essential questions of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-which-is-called-humanism-but-what-would-be-more-correctly-called/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Thus, because Christian morality leaves animals out of account (of this, more later on), they are at once outlawed in philosophical morals; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/thus-because-christian-morality-leaves-animals-out-of-account-of-this/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Selective literalism' is another attempt in a very long line of techniques designed and intended to shape God into our own image". ~R. Alan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/selective-literalism-is-another-attempt-in-a-very-long-line-of/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) [Browse all 23 Anthropocentrism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropocentrism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You all know the argument from design: everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in the world, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not manage to live in it. That is the argument from design. It sometimes takes a rather curious form; for instance, it is argued that rabbits have white tails in order to be easy to shoot. 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