William Paley

Also known as Archdeacon Paley

Christian apologist, natural theologian, utilitarian; (1743-1805)

Person · Open Library

Works: 84

Top works

Paley's law and practice of summary convictions under the Summary Jurisdiction acts, 1848-1884
Paley's law and practice of summary convictions by justices of the peace
A treatise on the law of principal and agent
Paley's Law and practice of summary convictions under the Summary Jurisdictions Acts, 1848-1899
The law and practice of summary convictions on penal statutes by justices of the peace

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Music · MusicBrainz

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Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 3
Total plays: 37

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Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

VMD: Visual molecular dynamics
· 1996 · cited 61,671x
Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure
· 1976 · cited 43,966x
Comparison of simple potential functions for simulating liquid water
· 1983 · cited 39,035x
QIIME allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data
· 2010 · cited 30,753x
Preparation of Graphitic Oxide
· 1958 · cited 28,540x

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Quotes

“The infidelity of the Gentile world, and that more especially of men of rank and learning in it, is resolved into a principle which, in my judgment, will account for the inefficacy of any argument, or any evidence whatever, viz. contempt prior to examination.”
“God, when he created the human species, wished their happiness; and made for them the provision which he has made, with that view, and for that purpose.”
“Wanton, and, what is worse, studied cruelty to brutes, is certainly wrong.”
“Government, at first, was either patriarchal or military; that of a parent over his family, or of a commander over his fellow warriors. ... Paternal authority, and the order of domestic life, supplied the foundation of civil government. ... A family contains the rudiments of an empire. The authority of one over many, and the disposition to govern and be governed, are in this way incidental to the very nature, and coeval, no doubt, with the existence of the human species.”
“[E]lections to the supreme power having upon some occasions produced the most destructive contentions, many states would take refuge from a return of the same calamities, in a rule of succession; and no rule presents itself so obvious, certain, and intelligible, as consanguinity of birth.”
“Wherefore rejecting the intervention of a compact, as unfounded in its principle, and dangerous in the application, we assign for the only ground of the subjects' obligation, THE WILL OF GOD AS COLLECTED FROM EXPEDIENCY.”

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Key facts

Born: July 1743, Peterborough , Cambridgeshire , England
Died: 25 May 1805 (1805-05-25) (aged 61), Bishopwearmouth , County Durham , England
Alma mater: Christ's College, Cambridge
Known for: Contributions to moral philosophy , political philosophy , ethics and philosophy of religion
Awards: Members' Prize, Cambridge (1765)
Fields: Natural theology
Institutions: Giggleswick Grammar School , Christ's College, Cambridge , Giggleswick Parish, Carlisle Cathedral , Lincoln Cathedral , Durham Cathedral

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Wikidata facts

Image: WilliamPaley.jpg

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date of death: 1805-05-25
date of birth: 1743-07-14
Commons category: William Paley
name in native language: William Paley
P12749: Belogorsk

Sources (2)

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~17 min read

Article

William Paley (July 1743 – 25 May 1805) was an English Anglican clergyman, philosopher, and utilitarian. He was at times referred to as a Christian apologist by his critics. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his 1802 work Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, which made use of the watchmaker analogy.

Life