The Works of William Paley: The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy

by William Paley, Edmund Paley, James Paxton

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570 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2018

About the author

1743-1805

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very influential but largely known for his watchmaker argument from design, Paley was a Christian utilitarian who pithily summed it up as “Whatever is expedient is right.” Paley’s version of utilitarianism seems to owe more to Aristotle than Epicurus with his non-hedonic account of happiness and use of natural teleology. You can just read books I and II and maybe VI about political philosophy which altogether read like chapter summaries. Pretty much, God wills everlasting human happiness through the natural fitness of things toward that end and that happiness consists in “engagement” or working towards worthwhile ends such as relationships or health rather than sensual pleasure. Expediency means both particular acts and general rules which on balance produce happiness and develop into habits. Political obligation is likewise based on public necessity and largely conditional duties to others depending on whether they justify coercion, as one need not force one to pursue their own good or what coincides with the public good which are properly considered rights. Paley’s system is very reliant on theism as he rejects a moral sense and would otherwise collapse to egoism but can be explained in much more limited evolutionary terms of species’ adaptation to ends or “teleonomy”, as both Darwin and Spencer were influenced by Paley.