William Paley (July 174325 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 ''
'', which made use of the
watchmaker analogy.
Life
Paley was born in
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...
, England, and was educated at
Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England.
Early school
In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior an ...
, of which his father - also called William - was
headmaster for half a century, and - like his father and great-uncle - at
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
. He graduated in 1763 as
senior wrangler, became fellow in 1766, and in 1768 tutor of his college. He lectured on
Samuel Clarke,
Joseph Butler and
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
in his systematic course on
moral philosophy
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...
, which subsequently formed the basis of his ''Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy''; and on the New Testament, his own copy of which is in the
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
. The subscription controversy was then agitating the university, and Paley pushed an anonymous defence of a pamphlet in which the Master of Peterhouse and Bishop of Carlisle
Edmund Law
Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlis ...
had advocated the retrenchment and simplification of the
Thirty-nine Articles
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
; he did not, however, sign the petition (called the "Feathers Tavern" petition, from the place where it was agreed) for a relaxation of the terms of subscription to the Articles. He was also a strong supporter of the American colonies during the revolutionary war, partly because he thought it would lead to the destruction of slavery. He studied philosophy.
In 1776 Paley was presented to the rectory of
Musgrave in
Westmorland, which was exchanged soon after for Appleby. He was subsequently made vicar of
Dalston in 1780, near the bishop's palace at
Rose Castle
Rose Castle is a fortified house in Cumbria, England, on a site that was home to the bishops of Carlisle from 1230 to 2009. It is within the parish of Dalston, from Dalston itself, which is four miles southwest of Carlisle. The architects Anth ...
. In 1782 he became the
Archdeacon of Carlisle. Paley was intimate with the Law family throughout his life, and the Bishop and his son
John Law
John Law may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist
* John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner
* John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director
* John Law (musician) (born 1961) ...
(who was later an Irish bishop) were instrumental during the decade after he left Cambridge in pressing him to publish his revised lectures and in negotiating with the publisher. In 1782 Edmund Law, otherwise the mildest of men, was most particular that Paley should add a book on political philosophy to the moral philosophy, which Paley was reluctant to write. The book was published in 1785 under the title of ''The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy'', and was made a part of the examinations at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
the next year. It passed through fifteen editions in the author's lifetime. Paley strenuously supported the abolition of the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and his attack on slavery in the book was instrumental in drawing greater public attention to the practice. In 1789, a speech he gave on the subject in Carlisle was published.
The ''Principles'' was followed in 1790 by his first essay in the field of Christian apologetics, ''Horae Paulinae, or the Truth of the Scripture History of St Paul'' which compared Paul's Epistles with the Acts of the Apostles, making use of "undesigned coincidences" to argue that these documents mutually supported each other's authenticity. Some have said this book was the most original of Paley's works. It was followed in 1794 by the celebrated ''View of the Evidences of Christianity'', which was also added to the examinations at Cambridge, remaining on the syllabus until the 1920s.
For his services in defence of the faith, with the publication of the ''Evidences'', the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
gave him a stall in
St Paul's; the
Bishop of Lincoln made him subdean of that cathedral, and the
Bishop of Durham
The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
conferred upon him the rectory of
Bishopwearmouth. During the remainder of Paley's life, his time was divided between Bishopwearmouth and Lincoln, during which time he wrote ''Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity'', despite his increasingly debilitating illness. He died on 25 May 1805 and is buried in Carlisle Cathedral with his two wives.
Among his grandsons were: the classical scholar
Frederick Apthorp Paley Frederick Apthorp Paley (14 January 1815 – 8 December 1888), was an English classical scholar.
Life
Born at Easingwold in Yorkshire, to Rev. Edmund Paley and Sarah (née Apthorp), he was the grandson of William Paley, and brother of architect E.G ...
(1815-1888) and his brother the architect
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley (3 September 1823 – 23 January 1895), was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century. After leaving school in 1838, he went to La ...
(1823-1895), sons of the Rev. Edmund Paley (1782-1850).
Thought
Paley's ''Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy'' was one of the most influential philosophical texts in late Enlightenment Britain. It was cited in several parliamentary debates over the
corn laws in Britain and in debates in the US Congress. The book remained a set textbook at Cambridge well into the Victorian era.
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
, as a student of theology, was required to read it when he did his undergraduate studies at Christ's College, but it was Paley's ''Natural Theology'' that most impressed Darwin even though it was not a set book for undergraduates. Portraits of Paley and Darwin face each other at Christ's College to this day.
Paley is also remembered for his contributions to the
philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning p ...
, utilitarian ethics and Christian
apologetics. In 1802, he published ''
Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity'', his last book. As he states in the preface, he saw the book as a preamble to his other philosophical and theological books; in fact, he suggests that ''Natural Theology'' should be read first, so as to build a systematic understanding of his arguments. The main thrust of his argument was that God's design of the whole creation could be seen in the general happiness, or well-being, that was evident in the physical and social order of things. Such a book fell within the broad tradition of
natural theology works written during the Enlightenment; and this explains why Paley based much of his thought on
John Ray (1691),
William Derham (1711) and
Bernard Nieuwentyt
Bernard Nieuwentijt, Nieuwentijdt, or Nieuwentyt (10 August 1654, West-Graftdijk, North Holland – 30 May 1718, Purmerend) was a Dutch philosopher, mathematician, physician, magistrate, mayor (of Purmerend), and theologian.
Career
As a ph ...
(1750).
Paley's argument is built mainly around anatomy and natural history. "For my part", he says, "I take my stand in human anatomy"; elsewhere he insists upon "the necessity, in each particular case, of an intelligent designing mind for the contriving and determining of the forms which organized bodies bear". In making his argument, Paley employed a wide variety of metaphors and analogies. Perhaps the most famous is his analogy between a watch and the world. Historians, philosophers and theologians often call this the
Watchmaker analogy. Building on this mechanical analogy, Paley presents examples from planetary astronomy and argues that the regular movements of the solar system resemble the workings of a giant clock. To bolster his views he cites the work of his old friend
John Law
John Law may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist
* John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner
* John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director
* John Law (musician) (born 1961) ...
and the Dublin Astronomer Royal
John Brinkley.
The germ of the idea is to be found in ancient writers who used sundials and Ptolemaic epicycles to illustrate the divine order of the world. These types of examples can be seen in the work of the ancient philosopher
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, especially in his ''
De natura deorum
''De Natura Deorum'' (''On the Nature of the Gods'') is a philosophical dialogue by Roman Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three books that discuss the theological views of the Hellenistic philosophies o ...
'', ii. 87 and 97. The watch analogy was widely used in the Enlightenment, by
deists and Christians alike. Thus, Paley's use of the watch (and other mechanical objects like it) continued a long and fruitful tradition of analogical reasoning that was well received by those who read ''Natural Theology'' when it was published in 1802.
Legacy
Since Paley is often read in university courses that address the philosophy of religion, the timing of his design argument has sometimes perplexed modern philosophers. Earlier in the century
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment ph ...
had argued against notions of design with counter examples drawn from monstrosity, imperfect forms of testimony and probability (see
watchmaker analogy). Hume's arguments, however, were not widely accepted by most of the reading public and they fell 'stillborn' (to use Hume's own assessment) from the press. Despite Hume's unpopularity, Paley's published works and in manuscript letters show that he engaged directly with Hume from his time as an undergraduate to his last works. Paley's works were more influential than Hume's from the 1800s to the 1840s. Hume's arguments were only accepted gradually by the reading public, and his philosophical works sold poorly until agnostics like
Thomas Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The stori ...
championed Hume's philosophy in the late 19th century.
Scientific norms have changed greatly since Paley's day, and are inclined to do less than justice to his arguments and ways of reasoning. But his style is lucid and he was willing to present transparently the evidence against his own case. The design argument has also been applied in other fields of scientific and philosophical inquiry, notably in regards to anthropic cosmological fine-tuning, fine-tuning for discoverability and the origin of life. His subject matter was central to Victorian anxieties, which might be one reason ''Natural Theology'' continued to appeal to the reading public, making his book a best seller for most of the 19th century, even after the publication of Darwin's ''
Origin of Species'' in 1859. ''
Natural Theology'' and the ''
Evidences of Christianity'' appealed to Victorian
Evangelicals, although not so much to adherents of the
Oxford Movement – and both found his ''utilitarianism'' objectionable. Paley's views influenced (both positively and negatively) theologians, philosophers and scientists, then and since.
In addition to ''Moral and Political Philosophy'' and the ''Evidences'',
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
read ''Natural Theology'' during his student years, and later stated in his autobiography that he was initially convinced by the argument. His views changed with time. By the 1820s and 1830s, well-known liberals like
Thomas Wakley
Thomas Wakley (11 July 179516 May 1862) was an English surgeon. He gained fame as a social reformer who campaigned against incompetence, privilege and nepotism. He was the founding editor of ''The Lancet'', a radical Member of Parliament (MP) a ...
and other radical editors of ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles ...
'' were using Paley's ageing examples to attack the establishment's control over medical and scientific education in Durham, London, Oxford and Cambridge. It also inspired the
Earl of Bridgewater to commission the ''Bridgewater Treatises'' and the
Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world.
The SPCK is t ...
to issue cheap reprints for the rising middle class. But whereas Paley's natural theology was disassembled or rebuilt by intellectuals like Wakley or the Bridgewater authors, the core of argument retained an ongoing popularity with the reading public and served as the basis of many catechisms and textbooks that were used in Britain and its colonies until World War II when, as argued by
Matthew Daniel Eddy, the existential morass of World War I undermined the moral teleology that had underpinned natural theology since the Enlightenment.
Today, Paley's name evokes both reverence and revulsion and his work is cited accordingly by authors seeking to frame their own views of design. Even
Richard Dawkins, an opponent of the ''design argument'', described himself as a ''neo-Paleyan'' in ''
The Blind Watchmaker''. Today, as in his own time (though for different reasons), Paley is a controversial figure, a lightning rod for both sides in the contemporary argument between creationism and evolutionary biology. His writings reflect the thought of his time, but as Dawkins observed, his was a strong and logical approach to evidence, whether human or natural. Perhaps this explains why the Oxford constitutional theorist
A.V. Dicey
Albert Venn Dicey, (4 February 1835 – 7 April 1922), usually cited as A. V. Dicey, was a British Whig jurist and constitutional theorist. He is most widely known as the author of ''Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution ...
had his pupils read the ''Evidences'' to teach them about legal reasoning. It is for such reasons that Paley's writings, ''Natural Theology'' included, stand as a notable body of work in the canon of Western thought.
Works
''The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy', 1785
''Horae Paulinae, or the Truth of the Scripture History of St Paul'' 1790
''View of the Evidences of Christianity'' 1794
*
See also
*
List of abolitionist forerunners
Thomas Clarkson (1760–1846), the pioneering English abolitionist, prepared a "map" of the "streams" of "forerunners and coadjutors" of the abolitionist movement, which he published in his work, ''The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accompl ...
*
Langcliffe
*
Giggleswick School
Giggleswick School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England.
Early school
In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior an ...
*
Frederick Apthorp Paley Frederick Apthorp Paley (14 January 1815 – 8 December 1888), was an English classical scholar.
Life
Born at Easingwold in Yorkshire, to Rev. Edmund Paley and Sarah (née Apthorp), he was the grandson of William Paley, and brother of architect E.G ...
(1815–1888)
*
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley (3 September 1823 – 23 January 1895), was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century. After leaving school in 1838, he went to La ...
(1823–1895)
*
Henry Anderson Paley (1859–1946)
*
Sharpe, Paley and Austin
*
Alexander George Victor Paley (Sir Victor Paley, KBE, CB, DSO, DL) (1903–1976)
'descent from uncle George (1708–1765)''*
Bowling Iron Works 'descent from uncle George (1708–1765)''*
Ampton Hall
Ampton Hall is a Grade II-listed Jacobean style manor house in Ampton, Suffolk, England.
Ampton Hall was the birthplace in 1805 of Robert FitzRoy, who became the second Governor of New Zealand.
It later belonged to the Paley family: John Paley ...
'descent from uncle George (1708–1765)''
References
Sources
*
* Fyfe, A. 'Publishing and the classics: Paley's Natural Theology and the nineteenth-century scientific canon', ''Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science'', 33 (2002), 729–751.
* Gascoigne, J., 'Rise and Fall of British Newtonian Natural Theology', ''Science in Context'', 2 (1988), 219–256.
* Gillespie, N. C. 'Divine Design and the Industrial Revolution. William Paley's Abortive Reform of Natural Theology', Isis, 81 (1990), 214–229.
* Philipp, W. 'Physicotheology in the Age of Enlightenment: Appearance and History', ''Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century'', 57 (1967), 1233–1267.
* Topham, J. R. 'Science, natural theology, and evangelicalism in the early nineteenth century:
Thomas Chalmers and the evidence controversy', in D. N. Livingstone, D. G. Hart and M. A. Knoll, ''Evangelicals and Science in Historical Perspective'' (Oxford: 1999), 142–174.
* Topham, J. R. 'Beyond the "Common Context": the Production and Reading of the Bridgewater Treatises', ''Isis'', 89 (1998), 233–262.
Further reading
* Brown, Colin. ''Miracles and the Critical Mind'', Paternoster, Exeter and William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1984.
* Brooke, John H. ''Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991.
* Clarke, M.L., ''Paley: Evidences for the Man'', University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1974.
* Dodds, G. L. Paley, ''Wearside and Natural Theology'', Sunderland, 2003.
* Gilson, E., ''From Aristotle to Darwin and Back again: A Journey in Final Causality, Species, and Evolution'', John Lyon (trans), Notre Dame University Press, London 1984.
* Knight, David. ''Science and Spirituality: The Volatile Connection'', Routledge, London, 2004.
* LeMahieu, D.L. ''The Mind of William Paley'', Lincoln, Nebraska, 1976.
*
McAdoo, H. R., ''The Spirit of Anglicanism: A Survey of Anglican Theological Method in the Seventeenth Century'', London, 1965.
*
McGrath, A. E., ''A Scientific Theology: Volume I, Nature'', Continuum, Edinburgh, 2001.
*
Meadley, G. W. ''Memoirs of William Paley, to which is Added an Appendix'', London, 1809.
* Ospovat, D. ''The Development of Darwin's Theory: Natural History, Natural Theology and Natural Selection, 1838–1859'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995.
* Pelikan, J. ''Christianity and Classical Culture: The Metamorphosis of Natural Theology in the Christian Encounter with Hellenism'', Yale University Press, New Haven, 1993.
* Porter, R. 'Creation and Credence', in Barry Barnes and Steven Shapin (eds), ''Natural Order: Historical Studies of Scientific Culture'', Sage Press, Beverly Hills, 1979.
* Raven, C. ''Natural Religion and Christian Theology'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1953.
* Richards, R. J. ''The Romantic Conception of Life: Science and Philosophy in the Age of Goethe'', Chicago University Press, Chicago, 2002.
* Rose, J. ''The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes'', Yale University Press, New Haven, 2002.
* Rosen, Frederick, ''Classical Utilitarianism from Hume to Mill'',
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
Studies in Ethics & Moral Theory, 2003.
* Rousseau, G. S. and Roy Porter (eds), ''The Ferment of Knowledge – Studies in the Historiography of Eighteenth Century Science'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980.
* St Clair, W. ''The Reading Nation in the Romantic Period'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004.
* Viner, J. ''The Role of Providence in the Social Order'', American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1972.
* Von Sydow, M. 'Charles Darwin: A Christian undermining Christianity?', in David M. Knight and Matthew D. Eddy, ''Science and Beliefs: From Natural Philosophy to Natural Science'', Ashgate, Aldershot, 2005
External links
*
William Paley.com*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paley, William
1743 births
1805 deaths
Christian apologists
British Christian creationists
Critics of atheism
People educated at Giggleswick School
18th-century English Anglican priests
Archdeacons of Carlisle
English political philosophers
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge
Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge
Consequentialists
Utilitarians
People from Peterborough
Senior Wranglers
Philosophers of religion
18th-century Anglican theologians
19th-century Anglican theologians