Quotes by William Paley
1743 – 1805
William Paley (1743-1805) was an 18th century English moral philosopher who became an influential teacher at the University of Cambridge. His major work, The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785) played a vital role in disseminating utilitarian ideas in England.
Property Rights
William Paley on the tragedy of the commons (1785)
Origin of Government
William Paley dismisses as a fiction the idea that there ever was a binding contract by which citizens consented to be ruled by their government (1785)