Post on 05-Jan-2016
Hume on miracles ~ slide 1
David Hume on miracles
The modern background: David Hume (Scottish, 1711-1776) on miracles (An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748) Biographical notes
Hume on miracles ~ slide 2
David Hume on miracles
Hume’s famous df.: a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature brought about by the volition of a Deity.
Hume’s three arguments against the existence of miracles
Hume on miracles ~ slide 3
David Hume on miracles
1. The nature of nature -- the uniformity of nature
2. Problems with testimony•Sufficient number of persons•The lack of “good sense, education,
and learning” of those testifying to miracles
Hume on miracles ~ slide 4
David Hume on miracles
•Testimony is from those living in “ignorant and barbarous nations,” and not from those living in a “celebrated part of the world” (a consider-the-source type argument)
•There is a propensity in humankind toward stories about the marvelous, unusual & strange
•Are many instances of forged miracles
Hume on miracles ~ slide 5
David Hume on miracles
General conclusion to the testimony arguments: Testimony when weighed against our experience loses.
Hume on miracles ~ slide 6
David Hume on miracles
3. A final argument: Religious pluralism & truth
Hume on miracles ~ slide 7
David Hume on miracles
Note Hume’s assumption about the foundational role of miracles. “We may establish it as a maxim that no human testimony can have such force as to prove a miracle, and make it a just foundation for any such system of religion.”
Hume on miracles ~ slide 8
David Hume on miracles
Critical evaluation of Hume’s arguments1. The foundational assumption2. Hume’s skepticism about testimony
Persons from “ignorant & barbarous nations”
Hume on miracles ~ slide 9
David Hume on miracles
3. Hume’s dilemma: testimony or nature . . . a false dilemma?
4. Does his definition of miracles have anything to do with the biblical notion of miracles?