The term "eutaxiology" was first coined by geologist Lewis Ezra Hicks in his Critique of Design Arguments, in which he argued that one can appreciate the complexities of organic life on Earth without assuming and accepting an intelligent design theory.Hicks, Lewis Ezra, A Critique of Design Arguments. Boston: Franklin Press, 1883. Online at archive.org However, the concept had been around for centuries, most notably in the works of Aristotle, who offered in Physics the idea of natural design without a designer, stating that "It is absurd to suppose that ends are not present [in nature] because we do not see an agent deliberating".Aristotle. The Organon and Other Works. Opensource collection. Translated under the editorship of W.D. Ross. Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org). p. 649 in text. n647 in page field. https://archive.org/details/AristotleOrganon. Retrieved 2009-10-22. Lucretius, who was also a supporter of accidentalism, similarly stated in De Rerum Natura, "Nothing in the body is made in order that we may use it. What happens to exist is the cause of its use".Lucretius. On the Nature of Things: De rerum natura. Anthony M. Esolen, transl. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Univ. Pr., 1995.
