Comparing Paideian Theory And William Paley's Theory

It has been a while since I have taken a look at William Paley’s theory and Darwin’s theory. However, in Paideia freshmen year we spent a lot of time on these two theorists, which helped me a lot in this reading because I remembered a little bit about Paley’s ideas and theories on natural theology.
What do you find important?
What I found important in this reading is the basis of Paley’s idea, the watchmaker. Paley believes that design implies that there is a designer. He uses the analogy of a watch to show that in order for a watch to work it needs a spring or someone to make the watch work. He compares this to the idea of natural theology and that in order for the intelligent design of the universe to happen there needs to be a designer. This idea then becomes the

basis of the existence of God in natural theology.

The ideas that he portrays in his writings is that only persons can contrive and design. Contrivance proves the personality of the deity or God. However, that deity cannot be the universe or anything that we can see. These ideas are the basis of Paley’s theory of natural theology. This goes against Darwin’s idea of natural selection because in Darwin’s theory it is a natural process that just happens over long periods of time. However, to Paley there needs to be a designer or maker of the universe and that animals cannot change on their own. Animals don’t have the ability to contrive their own limbs and senses, basically that a designer changes these animals in the universe. Darwin on the other hand believes that animals have the ability to adapt and change on their own based on survival of the

fittest and passing on traits to offspring. I think Paley’s analogy of a watch and a watchmaker is quite interesting because it does make me wonder who did begin this universe because I have a hard time believing just in natural selection. However, I don’t think a watch can compare to the universe in the fact that it cannot replicate.
What do you find problematic?
I find a lot of what Paley talks about problematic because he ignores the differences between so many different species and ignores species outside of mammals. Another thing that I don’t like about his idea of natural theology and the watch analogy is that God is compared to being the designer, while the watch is compared to the universe. However, unlike everything in the universe, watches cannot replicate. HIs argument does not completely prove that there is soley only one designer, instead he just sort of assumes this. Paley’s analogy of the watchmaker and the watch does little to convince me that natural theology is real compared to Darwin’s theory. I find that Darwin’s theory of natural selection offers although not much, much more evidence towards that then natural theology. In the last paragraph of the article he talks about his philosophy as being the last resort. That does not sit well with me because it almost makes it seem like it has even less evidence towards it. If we assume that there does need to be a designer, why not more than one? Why is it God and not someone else? What made him convinced that this person had to be the only person and be infinite? Another thing that I find wrong with Paley’s idea is that watchmakers make matches and that there is only one creator, but his analogy can also make us wonder that isn’t there more than one creator in the universe then? There could be a creator for life, rain, snow, mountains, and so on. Just like I described the watchmaker idea, it is an analogy not proof of natural theology.
Has this reading influenced your view of the subject in question?
I don’t think my view has changed from what it was before. I still believe strongly in Darwin’s argument for natural selection. However, I do also believe that there maybe was a designer along with natural selection. I think that God did have something to do with the creating of this universe but also believe that natural selection played and is still playing a huge role today in evolution of species and the world around us. I think the biggest thing I am still trying to figure out is how that first specie got onto the earth and how all of the world around us was created. I just don’t see how it could have just been something natural that happened. I think it is something that I will always wonder about throughout my life, but that is something that I am okay with.