by William Paley
1794


Born in Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England, William Paley (1743-1805) was a leading Anglican voice in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain. Graduating from Christ's College, University of Cambridge, in 1763, Paley became a tutor at the College in 1766, teaching moral philosophy, divinity, and Greek Testament. Later, he served numerous parishes, becoming Archdeacon of Carlisle and Canon of St. Paul's. Paley's significance continued throughout the nineteenth century as his book A View of the Evidences of Christianity was required reading for students at the University of Cambridge. At Christ's College, Paley's portrait hangs alongside John Milton and Charles Darwin (see below), all of whom graduated from the College.

Paley, an orthodox Anglican and conservative moral and political thinker in the
eighteenth century, published The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy
in 1785. In A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794), Paley, the
philosopher-natural theologian, argued for the truth of Christianity based on
his understanding of historical evidence. Paley supplemented human reason with
divine revelation as supporting foundations for the existence of God and
miracles against deistic thinkers of his time, addressing some his arguments
specifically against David Hume.

In the course of his argument about Christianity's truth, Paley discusses "The
Propagation of Christianity" from the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13) through
Christianity's introduction into India (Page 362 and Page 363). Though Paley
did not mention William Carey or the Serampore mission by name, he does appeal to the Christian missionary success in India (Page 362 and Page 363) as
supporting evidence for Christianity's validity.

The Works of William Paley, D.D., Archdeacon of Carlisle
A View of the Evidences of Christianity
(Philadelphia: J. J. Woodward, 1836).

A prolific author of numerous books, sermons, and essays, Paley is remembered
today primarily for classical formulation of the teleological argument for the
existence of God. Found at the beginning of his Natural Theology (1802), the
teleological argument has become the basis for much subsequent philosophical
discussion and critique of the issue of "order and design in the universe."
Arguing from the analogy of a watch and watchmaker, Paley suggested that the
analogy offered evidence that the universe includes order and design, hence a
Designer. In this opening and most famous paragraph, he says,
In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone, and were asked
how the stone came to be there: I might possibly answer, that for any thing I
know to the contrary, it had lain there for ever: nor would it perhaps be very
easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon
the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that
place; I should hardly think of the answer which I had before given, that for
any thing I knew, the watch might have always been there. Yet why should not
this answer serve for the watch, as well as for the stone? why is it not as
admissable in the second case as in the first? For this reason, and for no
other, viz., that when we come to inspect the watch, we perceive (what we could
not discover in the stone) that its several parts are framed and put together
for a purpose . . . This mechanism being observed . . . the inference, we think,
is inevitable, that the watch must have had a maker; that there must have
existed, at some time, and at some place of other, an artificer or artificers,
who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who
comprehended its construction, and designed its use.

Paley's books, including Natural Theology (1802), had a significant influence on
Charles Darwin. Preparing to become a clergyman, Darwin studied theology at
Christ's College, University of Cambridge, from 1828-1830. During his last year
at Cambridge, Darwin studied geology, graduating in 1831. In The Autobiography of Charles Darwin From The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Edited by his Son Francis Darwin, Darwin remarks about his studies at Cambridge, prominently including Paley's influence.

Darwin wrote,

Again, in my last year I worked with some earnestness for my final degree of
B.A., and brushed up my Classics, together with a little Algebra and Euclid,
which latter gave me much pleasure, as it did at school. In order to pass the
B.A. examination, it was also necessary to get up Paley's 'Evidences of
Christianity,' and his 'Moral Philosophy.' This was done in a thorough manner,
and I am convinced that I could have written out the whole of the 'Evidences'
with perfect correctness, but not of course in the clear language of Paley. The
logic of this book and, as I may add, of his 'Natural Theology,' gave me as much
delight as did Euclid. The careful study of these works, without attempting to
learn any part by rote, was the only part of the academical course which, as I
then felt and as I still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of
my mind. I did not at that time trouble myself about Paley's premises; and
taking these on trust, I was charmed and convinced by the long line of
argumentation. By answering well the examination questions in Paley, by doing
Euclid well, and by not failing miserably in Classics, I gained a good place
among the oi polloi or crowd of men who do not go in for honours.