Pale Paley's Analysis

This article begins with a hypothetical story of discovering a watch on a heath. Paley describes the watch in great detail; the coiled elastic springs, the flexible chain, a series of wheels, etc. He explains how they work together, what they are composed of, and how each aspect of this hypothetical watch is how it is for a reason. The wheels are brass to avoid rusting, the springs are steel because no other metal is so elastic, the face of the watch is glass to protect the watch while the time can still be seen. It is inevitable that the existence of this watch and all of its different parts working together so harmoniously gives reason to infer that there is or was at some point at least one watchmaker who thought of, designed, and created this watch for the purpose of telling time. This story is used as an analogy for God and the Universe, God being the watchmaker, and the Universe being the watch. So, for the following text, regard the watch to the Universe and all that God has been thought to create in it, and God as the watchmaker. …show more content…
The first of these objections being that if one has never seen the making of a watch, known a watchmaker, had the ability to make a watch, or understand how a watch is made, why should one infer there is a watchmaker for this watch? Paley explains that these are ignorant objections and knowing the watch exists is all that needs to be known to comprehend that its watchmaker exists.
The second of these objections is that the watch sometimes does not always work properly, or it seldom works exactly as it should. Paley responds with “it is not necessary that a machine be perfect in order to show with what design it was made”. It is even less necessary for a machine to be perfect if the only question is whether it were made with any design at