William Paley and the Evolution of the Natural Theology Movement

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

This project will examine William Paley's influential book, Natural Theology, which was initially published in 1802, including its publication, transmission, and continuing impact on public understanding of evolution; more generally, it will explore the relationship between science and religion. Although Paley's Natural Theology has been frequently cited in recent debates over the role of evolution in science curricula, the views attributed to Paley bear little resemblance to those he advanced over 200 years ago. By exploring the religious, scientific, and political environment in which Paley was writing, and relating the Natural Theology to the author's own life and work, this project will argue for a more nuanced understanding of Paley's work. This project will also look at how the Natural Theology has been used since its publication, both by readers who saw themselves as supportive of its arguments (as they understood them) and by those who opposed or refuted it. By examining the publishing history of the text, as well as how it was adapted and used as a textbook in the nineteenth century, the evolution of Paley's work can be traced. Subtleties of his arguments were displaced in transmission, and some of his conclusions were reformulated using justifications that Paley himself would not have accepted. The role of Paley in the history of Darwin and the efforts by Darwin's contemporaries to reframe the relationship between science and religion artificially turned Paley into a foil for evolution. This has continued through recent history, where both opponents and supporters of "intelligent design" have claimed that Paley is a precursor of this recent movement, despite the fact that the Natural Theology contains arguments that could be seen as challenges to intelligent design. This research will look at how and why Paley's work continues to hold relevance, and how its use has created and reinforced prevailing beliefs about the nature of science and religion.