Paley was a philosopher who believed
that the parts of the universe were so
intricately fitted together that there must
be a designer. He believed that the
universe had a purpose (eg. to sustain
life), and that this purpose showed that
God existed, and he was a designer - as
it says in classical theism.
Analogies
A Watch
Parts of a watch all seem to fit intricately together, and
work meticulously. If somebody came across a watch
they would assume that it had a watchmaker to produce
it. It was created to serve the purpose of telling time.
This is like the universe and God, according to Paley.
A
Television
It shows evidence of
purpose, complexity and
design because the parts
are fitted together in such a
way to receive pictures and
sound. The parts were put
together like this to fulfill this
function.
Examples
The
Universe
Some parts of the
universe appear to fit
together perfectly to
achieve a specific
function, like it was
designed. Paley
thought that to
achieve this, it must
have been designed
for a specific purpose,
not randomly. It must
have been designed
by God.
The
Human Eye
Various parts of the
eye cooperate in a
complex way together,
to produce sight. The
eye was clearly
designed for a specific
purpose, to allow sight,
which shows that there
is an element of design
for a purpose.
The
Lacteal
System
The number of
teats/paps in each
species is found to
bear a proportion to
the number of the
young.
The
Ozone
Layer
Arthur Brown (20th Century)
stated that the ozone layer had
a purpose of filtering UV rays,
and said that that could not
have come about by chance. It
was designed for a purpose, to
protect.
Problems: However,
the ozone layer is not
in perfect condition.
Some ask how a
perfect, divine deity
produce something
that would malfunction.