Natural Theology

William Paley
Edited by Matthew D. Eddy and David Knight

Oxford World's Classics

Paley's work of 1802 was hugely influential and still controversial, as we see a resurgence of interest in the theory of intelligent design and creationism.
Richard Dawkins's book The Blind Watchmaker famously takes on Paley to argue that the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design: natural selection is blind.
This is the only edition of the original 1802 text, which is of particular interest on history of science courses.
The introduction explains how the book built on the early modern natural theology tradition and why it was so influential. Full notes offer further background on the key figures and ideas of the day.
Two appendixes on Paley's sources and an extended bibliography will be especially useful to students.

Natural Theology

William Paley
Edited by Matthew D. Eddy and David Knight

Description

'The consciousness of knowing little, need not beget a distrust of that which he does not know.'

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. Paley's legalistic approach and skilful use of metaphor and analogy were hugely successful, and equally controversial. Charles Darwin, whose investigations led to very different conclusions in the Origin of Species, was greatly influenced by the book's cumulative structure and accessible style.

This edition reprints the original text of 1802, and sets the book in the context of the theological, philosophical, and scientific debates of the nineteenth century.
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Natural Theology

William Paley
Edited by Matthew D. Eddy and David Knight

Oxford World's Classics

Author Information

William Paley

Edited by Matthew D. Eddy, Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Durham, and David Knight, Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Durham

Natural Theology

William Paley
Edited by Matthew D. Eddy and David Knight

Oxford World's Classics

Reviews and Awards

"This is an astonishing book, made all the more accessible by some excellent modern footnotes" - John Habgood, Church TImes

Natural Theology

William Paley
Edited by Matthew D. Eddy and David Knight

Oxford World's Classics

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Posted on April 21, 2014

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