Abstract

The cosmological and design arguments, frequently operating in tandem, monopolized British theistic argument. Both the first cause argument propounded by Locke and Edmund Law, and the demonstration of a necessary being advocated by Samuel Clarke and John Jackson, limited the attributes that could be deduced from those characters. They relied on features of the existing order to complete their accounts. Berkeley, Hutcheson and Abernethy gave distinctive presentations of the design argument. Many just amassed scientific data without adequate analysis. Hume’s critique nevertheless had little impact. Reid appeared to show that his epistemology broke down, while Paley’s attack on Hume’s logic attracted many admirers