Hume has a second criticism of the Design Argument that is based on his interpretation of this argument as inductive. >>> inductive arguments

• Hume claims that if we are to have a reason for thinking that the universe is a product of intelligent design, we would have to base this conclusion on inductive reasoning. 

• We would have to examine a large number of other universes to inductively infer that most or all of them are the result of intelligent design.

• Hume observes that the strength of an inductive inference is influenced by the sample size. 

• But how big is our sample size in the Design Argument? Only the current universe that we inhabit is available for inspection!

Hume's critique of the Design Argument falls apart if this argument is neither an analogical argument nor an inductive one. If the Design Argument is considered as an abductive argument, like Gregor Mendel's, then Hume's critique is not to the point.

Summary

Paley's argument considered two competing hypotheses: the hypothesis of intelligent design and the hypothesis of random physical processes.

The fundamental idea of Paley's argument is that the >>> The Surprise Principle tells us that the Design Hypothesis is better supported than the Random Hypothesis—considering the observations that we can make about living things and the universe as a whole.