William Paley

William Paley
Portrait by George Romney
BornJuly 1743
Died25 May 1805 (1805-05-26) (aged 61)
NationalityEnglish
Alma materChrist's College, Cambridge
Known forContributions to moral philosophy, political philosophy, ethics and philosophy of religion
AwardsMembers' Prize, Cambridge (1765)
Scientific career
FieldsNatural theology
InstitutionsGiggleswick Grammar School, Christ's College, Cambridge, Giggleswick Parish, Carlisle Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, Durham Cathedral

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