title: Darwin's foil: the evolving uses of William Paley's Natural Theology 1802-2005.
abstract: This essay traces the divergent readings of William Paley's 1802 Natural Theology from its initial publication to the recent controversies over intelligent design. It argues that the misinterpretation of the Natural Theology as a scientific argument about the origins of complex life-which Darwin's Origin of Species refutes-did not develop all at once. Rather this reading evolved gradually, drawing from a variety of uses and appropriations during the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This study demonstrates the fluidity of "science" and "religion" during these centuries, and highlights the role that genres of science popularization play in altering the meaning of those categories.
authors.affiliation: Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, Birkbeck - University of London, Room G10, 28 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ, United Kingdom. Electronic address: a.shapiro@bbk.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Adam R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history*; D012072:Religious Philosophies / Q000266:history*; D012586:Science / Q000266:history*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D028725:Theology / Q000266:history*
keywords: Antievolution; Darwinism; Intelligent design; Natural theology; Religion and science; Science popularization