He was an English clergyman, a Christian apologist, a philosopher, and a utilitarian. Basically the cornea and lens of the eye invert the image of … The universe is analogous to human artefacts, but greater. His most famous argument is called the watchmaker analogy, where Paley makes an inference from the complexity of living systems to … He made use of the watchmaker analogy. He was born in July in 1743 and died on May 29, 1805 at age 65. Paley himself wrote that “Were there no example in the world, of contrivance, except that of the eye, it would be alone sufficient to support the … C. The universe must have a maker which … For observe, what the constitution of the eye is. It is necessary, in order to produce distinct vision, that an image or picture of the object be formed at the bottom of the eye. (Q.v., the "Watchmaker Analogy" from the Wikipedia cited below in "Further Reading.") Versions of the design argument based on analogy, and versions based on more abstract formulations of inference to the best explanation. Paley used a watch – a timepiece. The Eye as a Camera. For example, Paley cites the work of Johann Christophorous Sturm from a century before: “Sturmius held, that the examination of the eye was a cure for atheism” (p.33). His argument played a prominent role in natural theology. A watch is a ... 2. He is best known for his natural theology and his argument for the existence of God, rather than several gods. The strength of this analogy is that it clearly gets across how the optical aspects of the eye work [I will try to get a figure with the parts of an eye in here to help this discussion]. The argument from analogy. What does the watch analogy show? The argument makes use of an anaology as Paley compares a watch and the Earth/universe. William Paley's watchmaker analogy is basically a teleological argument. 2. Paley argues for a Designing Creator – everything has been designed to fulfil some function: Design qua purpose – the argument that the Universe appears to have been designed to fulfil some purpose e.g. 17 William Paley – On The Teleological Argument ... and even as to the kind of it, this circumstance varies not the analogy at all. Basically, it was the watchmaker analogy that was used, “To support argument for the existence of God and for the intelligent design of the universe in both Christianity and Deism.” bees pollinating flowers, or tick birds (symbiotic relationship), or the human eye. The 'watch analogy' from William Paley is an 'a posteriori' (based upon experience, as opposed to the use of logic) argument for the existence of God. The features of .. 3. The natural world and, in fact, all of the universe... 4. This analogy is very common and has been used in many textbooks. William Paley (1743 - 1805) was a British philosopher whose writings on natural theology and moral/political philosophy were largely influential amongst British and American thinkers. The watchmaker`s analogy is one of the theories discussing the issue of existence of God. Paley not only cites the work of Nieuwentyt on several occasions, but also constructs a much more detailed version of the argument. Like things have like causes. Paley claims that the design of making a watch could only be explained by the watchmaker. What is the analogy that Paley makes? Conclusion. 1. The argument hinges upon the assumed premise that 'like causes resemble like effects'. The analogy advanced by Paley is weak; this is because it presumes, devoid of any justification, a manifest similarity between objects occurring naturally such as the eye and objects designed by humans (such as a watch). A Christian apologist, a Christian apologist, a Christian apologist, a philosopher, and utilitarian... 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