Abstract
This paper will explore the thought of William Paley (1743-1805). Its aim is to convey a picture of Paley’s ethical philosophy in its connection to his political science. The paper begins with a brief comment on Paley’s “rise and fall” as an influential thinker. It then enters into Paley’s thought proper by addressing his conception of human happiness. The paper next addresses Paley’s analysis of the moral sense the existence of which he denies. The paper then proceeds to Paley’s discussion of the heroic and the Christian virtues, the nature of envy and emulation, the desire for recognition, the politics of honor, the ethics of lying and the philosopher’s situation in relation to the political community. The thinkers whose names will emerge in the course of the paper either for comparative comment or simple reference include Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Mandeville, Hume, Kant, Burke, Mill, Fitzhugh and others along with scholarly references.
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