Background
William Paley was born in Peterborough in July 1743. His father, William, was vicar of Helpston, Northamptonshire, and, later, headmaster of the Giggleswick School.
(More than two hundred years ago, Dr. William Paley wrote ...)
More than two hundred years ago, Dr. William Paley wrote a series of books that marshaled evidence for the Christian faith. His books were often required reading at major institutions of learning. Believers and unbelievers alike wrestled with Paley's arguments and his compelling presentation of them. Paley's Natural Theology was one of those books. In it, he showed from biology and human anatomy that the argument for design was a clear and self-evident inference from the facts, and from that point of departure proposed that only a designer God could adequately account for those facts. His famous analogy from an intricate watch to the required deduction that there exists a watchmaker persists to this day. When evolutionary theory rose to dominance, it was thought that Paley's views on 'intelligent design' had been fully put to rest. However, each new generation discovers anew that evolutionary theory requires them to accept as true what appears, on its face, to be patently absurd: that immense complexity, surpassing in its apparent genius what 1,000 human geniuses cannot create was nonetheless the product of unguided, intrinsically dumb, natural forces. Unsatisfied, they consider the alternatives. The argument is sure to rage for another two hundred years and Dr. Paley's Natural Theology will prove to be relevant then as it is relevant today, advances in our understanding of biology notwithstanding, and, actually, because of those very same advances. "I do not think I hardly ever admired a book more than Paley's Natural Theology: I could almost formerly have said it by heart." Charles Darwin, 1859.
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(In Natural Theology, William Paley set out to prove the e...)
In Natural Theology, William Paley set out to prove the existence of God from the evidence of the beauty and order of the natural world. Famously beginning by comparing the world to a watch, whose design is self-evident, he goes on to provide examples from biology, anatomy, and astronomy in order to demonstrate the intricacy and ingenuity of design that could only come from a wise and benevolent deity. This new edition, which coincides with the bicentennial of Paley's death, reprints the original text of 1802, which was very influential in its day, and still controversial in ours as we see a resurgence in the debate between"intelligent design" and "creationism." The introduction explains how the book built on the early modern natural theology tradition and why it was so influential. The book also contains two appendixes on Paley's courses, an extended bibliography, and full notes offering further background on the key figures of the day. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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( This classic work by William Paley was one of the most ...)
This classic work by William Paley was one of the most popular books in England and America in the early nineteenth century. Its significance lies in the fact that it marks an important point at which eighteenth-century whiggism began to be transformed into nineteenth-century liberalism. First published in 1785, Paleys Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy was originally based on his Cambridge lectures of 17661776. It was designed for instructional purposes and was almost immediately adopted as a required text for all undergraduates at Cambridge. The great popularity of Paleys Principlesis perhaps due in part to the authors remarkable gift for clear exposition. Even today, this work is very readable and easily comprehended. But the popularity of the book also reflected the fact that Paley expressed some of the leading scientific, theological, and ethical ideas of his time and place. In this respect, Paleys great classic provides valuable insight into the Anglo-American mind of the early nineteenth century and helps us better understand the thinking processes and evolving concepts of liberty and virtue that were displacing the old whiggism of the preceding century. As editor D. L. Le Mahieu states, To Paley, the undeniable demands of self interest coincided rather than conflicted with the needs of society. Paley believed that it was the utility of any moral rule alone which determined obligation. In his political theory, Paley rejected social contract theory and substituted instead a natural history of civil society. His opposition to electoral reform, and, later, the French Revolution, became part of a larger ideological discourse that helped the British elites withstand the revolutionary currents of the 1790s. D. L. Le Mahieu is Hotchkiss Presidential Professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois. He is also the author of The Mind of William Paley: A Philosopher and His Age (1976) and A Culture for Democracy (1988). Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.
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(Excerpt from Paley's Natural Theology, Vol. 1 of 4: With ...)
Excerpt from Paley's Natural Theology, Vol. 1 of 4: With Illustrative Notes This Discourse is not a treatise of Natural Theology: it has not for its design an exposition of the doctrines whereof Natural Theology con sists. But its object is, first, to explain the nature of the evidence upon which it rests - to show that it is a science, the truths of which are discovered by induction, like the truths of Natural and Moral Philosophy - that it is a branch of science partaking of the nature of each of those great divisions of human knowledge, and not merely closely allied to them both. Secondly, the object of the Discourse is to explain the advantages attending this study. The work, therefore, is a logical one. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(William Paley (July 1743 25 May 1805) was an English cl...)
William Paley (July 1743 25 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, which made use of the watchmaker analogy.
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(First published in 1802, "Natural Theology" was written i...)
First published in 1802, "Natural Theology" was written in defense of the teleological argument. His opening statement sets this stage by supposing that if he found a watch upon the ground, then examined its parts, he would necessarily conclude that it was designed for a purpose. His watchmaker analogy is still a favorite of many as a starting point for showing that such complexity cannot possibly have come into existence without an intelligent mind creating it. "Natural Theology" attempts to show that recognizing marks of design and intelligence in nature is not begging the question, but is instead drawing an inevitable conclusion about the nature of design. "Paley's arguments for God and for Christianity still provide the backbone for much of contemporary apologetics." Norman Geisler Co-Founder of Southern Evangelical Seminary Author of Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics "Modern apologists will do well to read and study the classical arguments. The strong appeal to logic and reason, as is evidenced in Paley, is a contrast to the feel-good subjective arguments often presented in the present postmodern world." Doy Moyer Professor of Philosophy and Biblical Studies, Florida College
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(This two-volume book by the philosopher and theologian Wi...)
This two-volume book by the philosopher and theologian William Paley, published in 1794, was considered so important that it was required reading for Cambridge students (including Charles Darwin) well into the nineteenth century. This classic work of apologetics is divided into three parts in which Paley discusses the historical evidence for Christianity and the miracles of Jesus Christ. He begins volume 1 with the proposition that the original witnesses to Christ's miracles should be believed, because they spent their entire lives in constant danger for what they witnessed. Paley takes on Hume's argument that no miracle can be proved regardless of the amount of evidence with the observation that if one believes in God, then miracles should be expected. Paley's intellectual defence of Christianity was one of the most popular of the day, and his work is considered a direct forerunner of the contemporary theory of intelligent design.
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William Paley was born in Peterborough in July 1743. His father, William, was vicar of Helpston, Northamptonshire, and, later, headmaster of the Giggleswick School.
William attended Giggleswick prior to entering Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1759, where he had a brilliant career, excelling in mathematics and debating.
After a brief period as a school-teacher Paley was elected a fellow at his college in 1766 and tutor in 1768. He remained at Cambridge until his marriage in 1776. Subsequently Paley, who had been ordained in 1767, accepted a series of ecclesiastical appointments which were less distinguished than his abilities because of his liberal political views.
Paley was the author of four books. He published The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy in 1785. Horae Paulinae, a defense of the New Testament, appeared in 1790. A view of the Evidences of Christianity, issued in 1794, achieved great fame. Natural Theology; or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature was published in 1802. He died in Lincoln on May 25, 1805.
Paley's most successful work was Natural Theology, which presented in a clear and lucid manner all of the evidences for the existence of God. Philosophers and theologians have always distinguished between knowledge of the fact that a supreme being exists and knowledge of what such an existence would involve. Paley, as a liberal theologian and thinker, was close to the position of medieval negative theology and 17th-century deism, believing that man can know that the Supreme Being exists but that he can know nothing of His attributes. Thus Paley attempted to establish that the evidence for the existence of God exceeds the objections.
Paley's method was analogical reasoning. His most famous illustration was that a reasonable man will admit that experience establishes that the intricate and connected parts of a watch can be produced only by an intelligent designer. If evidence suggests that the workings of the present universe are more complicated and interdependent than those of a watch, then a reasonable man must conclude, by analogy, that it is highly probable that God exists as the designer of the universe. Indirectly, said Paley, a reasonable man can attribute personality and power to such a being because these are the experienced conditions of a designer.
The weakness of Paley's argument consists in his failure to question the analogy between a watch and a world.
(This two-volume book by the philosopher and theologian Wi...)
(In Natural Theology, William Paley set out to prove the e...)
( This classic work by William Paley was one of the most ...)
(William Paley (July 1743 25 May 1805) was an English cl...)
(First published in 1802, "Natural Theology" was written i...)
(Excerpt from Paley's Natural Theology, Vol. 1 of 4: With ...)
(More than two hundred years ago, Dr. William Paley wrote ...)
William Paley had liberal political views.