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AstroChemist (talk | contribs) m Removed redundant sentence, near identical sentences already covered in 'scientific revolution' section. Also, these quotes are not applicable to the intro section of the topic. |
AstroChemist (talk | contribs) Removed sentence with claims of knowledge from 'others' giving potential implication that there is credible argument for watchmaker analogy; in contrast to the scientific consensus on the topic |
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The '''watchmaker analogy''' or '''watchmaker argument''' is a [[teleological argument]]. By way of an [[analogy]], the argument states that design implies a designer. The analogy has played a prominent role in [[natural theology]] and the "argument from design," where it was used to support arguments for the existence of [[God]] and for the [[intelligent design]] of the universe.The most famous statement of the teleological [[argument]] using the watchmaker analogy was given by [[William Paley]] in his 1802 book ''Natural Theology''.<ref>[http://www.wmcarey.edu/carey/paley/ William Paley - William Carey University]</ref>
The 1859 publication of [[Charles Darwin]]'s [[scientific theory|theory]] of [[natural selection]] put forward an explanation for complexity and [[adaptation]], which reflects scientific consensus on the origins of biological diversity,<ref name="nap">"Such controversies as do exist concern the details of the mechanisms of evolution, not the validity of the over-arching theory of evolution, which is one of the best supported theories in all of science." [http://www.nap.edu/books/0309064066/html/25.html Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, Second Edition (1999)] [[United States National Academy of Sciences]]</ref> and provides a counter-argument to the watchmaker analogy: for example, evolutionary biologist [[Richard Dawkins]] referred to the analogy in his 1986 book ''[[The Blind Watchmaker]]'' giving his explanation of [[evolution]]
In the United States, starting in the 1960s, [[creationism|creationists]] revived versions of the argument to dispute the concepts of evolution and natural selection, and there was renewed interest in the watchmaker argument.
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