Natural Theology: or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature

Natural Theology, or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature, published by R. Faulder in London in 1802, is William Paley's own primary text and the classic statement of the watchmaker analogy, arguing that the intricate design apparent in living organisms implies a designer just as a watch found on a heath implies a watchmaker. As the originating primary text it is the correct source for the argument's own structure and wording, as Paley himself gave it. Its limit is that it is an early nineteenth century argument that predates the theory of natural selection Darwin later proposed as an alternative explanation for apparent design, so a claim treating Paley's argument as unanswered rather than as historically superseded by evolutionary biology needs correction against that later scientific development.