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watchmaker analogy

blind watchmaker is an idea popularized by richard dawkins in his book the blind watchmaker (1986). it builds on an older argument from william paley, who said that if you found a watch lying on the ground, you’d naturally assume it was made by a watchmaker, not just formed by chance. he used this to argue that the complexity of life must mean there’s a divine creator (a “watchmaker god”).

dawkins flipped this idea. he argued that evolution by natural selection can produce incredibly complex and functional systems without any conscious design. nature acts like a “blind watchmaker”: it builds intricate lifeforms, but it’s a totally unguided process. there’s no foresight, no intention, no plan…