Arguing Analogies: Dr. Jay Richards on Paley’s Natural Theology
In this edition of ID The Future, CSC’s Logan Gage interviews Dr. Jay Richards about William Paley, David Hume, and the arguments for intelligent design. Dr. Richards begins with a description of William Paley’s 1802 book Natural Theology, in which the author infers from the natural world that there must be some intelligent force (God) responsible for its design. Richards then addresses David Hume’s critique of analogical arguments like those used by Paley. Dr. Richards closes by differentiating between analogical arguments and arguments for intelligent design.
About Dr. Jay Richards
Jay Wesley Richards has a Ph.D. (honors) in philosophy and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was a Teaching Fellow. He is presently a Research Fellow and Director of Media at the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Richards has been published in academic journals including Religious Studies, Christian Scholars’ Review, and The Princeton Theological Review, and has written editorial features in The Washington Post, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and IntellectualCapital.com. Richards co-authored The Privileged Planet with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, and is the author of The Untamed God.