William Paley’s argument for the existence of God: The world, he says, is too complex and well–designed to have come about by chance. It seems to have been planned by an intelligent mind for a special purpose.

William Paley William Paley lived at a time when only the very rich could afford a clock or a watch. Most people would only ever see a clock on a church tower, or on a town hall. Many would only know the time by counting the striking of the bells.

“Suppose you found a Stone…..” Paley started by stating ‘If we were to discover a stone whilst walking we might enquires how it came to be and, through considering natural events, would come to a conclusion of how it was formed’

“Suppose you find a watch...” Paley went on to say “Now suppose you had never seen a watch before. One day, when you are out walking, you find one on the ground. You would see instantly how complex it is.” Paley was interested in why our response is different and his argument goes on to focus on complexity of design

“You wouldn’t think that this object had come into existence by chance. You would think that this must have been designed by a clever person to do a particular job... Even if you didn’t know what that job is.” As the watch is complex it points towards the conclusion that it has been designed by someone with intelligence and not just by random chance.

NOW said William Paley. The universe is like that. It is also complex and if you look at it carefully, you must come to the conclusion that it has been designed by an intelligent mind for a particular purpose.

Design Qua Purpose The argument that the Universe appears to have been designed to fulfil some purpose e.g. bees pollinating flowers, or tick birds (symbiotic relationship), or the human eye.

Design Qua Regularity The argument from regularity basically looks at the things in nature which seem to happen in an orderly, organised and regular way. Examples of things in nature that happen in regularity are as follows: The movement of the planets and their orbits The seasons The tides The moon cycle Hibernation of animals