Paley, William (1743-1805), was an English theologian and philosopher. He based his influential book Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785) on the assumption that God desires the happiness of His creatures and rewards or punishes them after death. The book advocates a form of utilitarianism (see Utilitarianism ). In Horae Paulinae (1790), Paley tried to prove the historical truth of the New Testament through the examination of the life and letters of Saint Paul. Paley also published A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794) and Natural Theology (1802), which was probably his most popular work.
Paley was born on July 1743 in Peterborough, now in Cambridgeshire, England. He was a fellow and tutor of Christ’s College in Cambridge University from 1768 to 1776. He became rector of Musgrave in Westmoreland in 1776, archdeacon of Carlisle in 1782, and subdeacon of Lincoln 1795. Paley died on May 25, 1805.
