Paley's argument

• Paley's design qua Purpose argues that the complexity and purpose observed in natural objects/beings are best explained by a designer
• Paley uses the example of a watch to illustrate his argument:

  • A rock found on a heath may seem to have always been there, but a watch, with its intricate parts arranged to tell time, clearly suggests design
• The watch's complexity and purpose, arranged to tell time, indicate it had a designer - a watchmaker
• Paley extends his argument to natural objects like the human eye, wings of a bird, and fins of a fish, all showing complexity arranged to fulfill a purpose
• Paley concludes that just as the complexity and purpose in a watch imply a watchmaker, the complexity and purpose in the universe imply a universe designer
• According to Paley, the universe designer must have a mind, as design requires a purposeful arrangement of parts to achieve a specific goal