Discusses crucial moments in the historical development of natural theology in England from the time of Francis Bacon to that of Charles Darwin. While the argument from design remains the rhetorical method of choice for natural theologians throughout the three centuries in question, the locus and object of design undergo a change.

Autorentext
Stuart Peterfreund is a professor of English at Northeastern University. He is the author of William Blake in a Newtonian World: Argument as Art Argument as Science, and Shelley among Others: The Play of the Intertext and the Idea of Language.

Inhalt
An Argument about the Argument from Design Natural Theology, Leading up to Bacon Getting Back to the Garden and the Temple: Bacon, the Design of the Creature, Deferral, and Instauration Leaving Bacon Behind: Robert Boyle's Legacy and the Mechanization of Natural Theology The Second Moses Reconsidered, or, Back to Bacon and Beyond: Mosaic Natural Theology in the Age of Newton Systems within Systems: From Newton to Paley From Paley to Darwin: The Design of the Macrosystem Intelligent Design?