Paleyann.adj.
/ˈpeɪlɪən/, U.S. /ˈpeɪljən/, /ˈpeɪliən/ Theology.
A. n.
An adherent of William Paley or his theories; spec. a supporter of his rationalist, proto-utilitarian, moral philosophy and view of God as the supreme ‘watchmaker’ of a universe governed by mechanistic natural laws.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > theology > systems of theology > [noun] > Paley > adherent of
Paleyan1818
1818 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1959) IV. 901 For myself, I cannot agree wholly either with Sir S. Romilly on the one side, or with the Paleyians on the other.
1855 W. Bagehot in National Rev. 1 284 Let us keep no terms with Paleyans in speculation.
1928 M. Morris tr. E. Halévy Growth Philosophic Radicalism i. i. 23 The ‘Paleyans’ came to be denounced long before the ‘Benthamites’.
1983 Ethics 93 629 At times Stout reminds one of a neo-Paleyan.
B. adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of Paley or his theology.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > theology > systems of theology > [adjective] > Paley
Paleyan1825
1825 S. T. Coleridge Let. 23 May (1971) V. 465 The cheerlessness, vulgarity and common-place character of the mechanical philosophy, and Paleyian Expedience.
1862 A. J. Munby Diary 16 Aug. in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 135 From lips like hers, the Paleian philosophy sounds creditable.
1915 G. B. Shaw in New Statesman 8 May 109/2 Darwin's deathblow to the old Paleyan assumption that any organ perfectly adapted to its function must be the work of a designer.
1951 N. Annan Leslie Stephen iii. 111 So far from being a Paleyan Deity who proves His existence to men by the ingenious mechanism of Nature, the Evangelical God is a God of miracles.
2000 Church Times 3 Mar. 20/1 The Paleyan point of view perhaps explains the extraordinary diligence with which some of the notable 19th-century naturalists set about their work as recorders, collectors, and classifiers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1818