
Published online:
22 March 2012
Published in print:
08 October 2009
Online ISBN:
9780520944404
Print ISBN:
9780520258938
Contents
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The Teleologists: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle The Teleologists: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
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Empedocles and the Atomists Empedocles and the Atomists
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The End of the Classical Era and the Rise of Christianity The End of the Classical Era and the Rise of Christianity
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The Scientific Revolution and the Revolt against Teleology The Scientific Revolution and the Revolt against Teleology
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Rational Theology and the Argument of Design: the Later Seventeenth Century Rational Theology and the Argument of Design: the Later Seventeenth Century
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The Deists, the Platonists, and the Rebirth of Natural Theology The Deists, the Platonists, and the Rebirth of Natural Theology
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The Mechanical Philosophy and the Argument of Design: Boyle, Ray, and Newton The Mechanical Philosophy and the Argument of Design: Boyle, Ray, and Newton
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Chapter
3 Design versus the Epicurean Hypothesis: Two Thousand Years of Debate
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Pages
30–56
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Published:October 2009
Cite
Reiss, John O., 'Design versus the Epicurean Hypothesis: Two Thousand Years of Debate', Not by Design: Retiring Darwin's Watchmaker (Oakland, CA , 2009; online edn, California Scholarship Online, 22 Mar. 2012), https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520258938.003.0003, accessed 5 May 2025.
Abstract
This chapter pursues the debate over design from its origins in ancient Greek philosophy through the Enlightenment to Cuvier and Darwin, contrasts teleological views with those of the atomist or Epicurean school, and examines the prehistory of the principle of the conditions for existence itself. It also examines the scientific revolution and the revolt against teleology, and the emergence of the modern argument of design in the later seventeenth century. The chapter furthermore explores the rebirth of natural theology and then turns to the viewpoint promulgated by three leading British scientists: Robert Boyle, John Ray, and Isaac Newton.
Keywords:
Enlightenment, Cuvier, Darwin, scientific revolution, teleology, natural theology, Robert Boyle, John Ray, Isaac Newton
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