David Hume 17111776: The Great Sceptic and Empiricist

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David Hume (1711-1776) The Great Sceptic and
Empiricist

• A Treatise of Human Nature (1739)
• An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)
• Empiricism
• Impressions and ideas
• Relations of ideas and matters of fact
• Probability and proof
• No necessary connection

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Section X Of MiraclesA wise man proportions
his belief to the evidence.

• Part I
• A. Dr. Tillotsons argument against a real
  presence based on testimony of apostles
• Weaker evidence cannot destroy stronger
• B. Experience is the only guide in reasoning
  concerning matters of fact, but not infallible
• Human testimony is a useful kind of reasoning...
• based on relation of cause and effect and the
  observation of veracity of facts to reports
• No a priori connection between testimony and
  reality

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What is a miracle?

• Not the extraordinary or marvellous
• A violation of the laws of nature by a deity
• The laws of nature are determined by firm
  experience, which amounts as an entire proof
  against miracles.
• Humes test testimony is sufficent to establish
  a miracle if its falsehood would be even more
  miraculous than the fact it is trying to
  establish.

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Part II

• There never was a miracle whose falsehood would
  be more miraculous.
• Four additional weighty points against miracles
• 1. None attested by a sufficient number of
  intelligent persons.
• 2. Passion of surprise and wonder is an agreeable
  emotionhumans dont always follow reason
  reasoning, but have a propensity for this
  passionthus it is reasonable to be suspicious of
  such stories.

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• 3. Miracles abound chiefly among ignorant and
  barbarous nations.
• 4. Miraculous testimony of contrary religions
  discredits all such testimony.
• Conclusion (p. 180) Upon the whole, no
  testimony for any kind of miracle has ever
  amounted to a probability, much less a proof.
• Do you agree?

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Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779)

• Pamphilus to Hermippus On the dialogical form
• Characters
• Cleanthes philosophical theist
• Demea orthodox believer, negative theologian
• Philo the clever skeptic and deist (Hume?)
• Problems
• Skeptical philosophy (Part I)
• The nature of God and the teleological argument
  (Parts II-XIII)

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William Paley (1743-1805) The Teleological
Argument

• Also known as The Argument from Design or
  Analogy
• I. Central thesis If we found a watch in Nature
  we would be justified in inferring a watchmaker
• II. Strategy of Argument Defensive, considers 8
  possible objections (pp. 267-68)
• III. Application of Argument Analogy
• Inference from Watch to Watchmaker
• Inference from Nature to God

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Philos Objections to the Argument by Analogy

• Very weak analogya universe is quite dissimilar
  from a house (or watch) of which we have
  experience
• Remember that our ideas reach no farther than
  our experience
• And experiential reasonings are founded on the
  supposition that similar causes prove similar
  effects, and similar effects similar causes (p.
  211)
• Why take the principle of thought or design to be
  the foundation of the universe when there are
  many other principles possible?

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• Can such a small part of the universe, which is
  still in its infancy, account for the origin of
  the whole?
• The subject exceeds all human reason and
  inquiry. (p. 214)End of Part II
• Anthropomorphism Is the Deity really similar to
  a human mind and understanding?
• We experience both an order in thought and an
  order in matter. Why must the former be the cause
  of the universe and not the latter?

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• Like effects prove like causes. (p. 222)
• Thus forget attributing infinity and perfection
  to the Deity
• The unity of the Deity is questionable as
  wellwhy not many Deities?
• The universe seems to bear a greater likeness to
  animal bodies and to vegetables that to the works
  of human art (p. 229).
• Its cause is thus more probably generation or
  vegetation.

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• All religious systemsare subject to great and
  insuperable difficultiesbut all of them, on a
  whole, prepare a complete triumph for the
  sceptica total suspense of judgment is here our
  only reasonable resource (p. 236).

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The Problem of Evil (Sections X-XI)

• Demea suggests that religion is better felt than
  understood and speaks of the great misery of
  humans
• Take the test (p. 242)
• This is an attack on the anthropomorphism of
  Cleanthes in asserting moral attributes of the
  Deity
• Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able?
  Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing?
  Then is he malevolent. Is he both able and
  willing? whence then is evil? Epicurus (p. 243)
• Omnipotence Benevolence No Evil (Physical or
  Moral)

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Possible Solutions

• Demeas otherworldly solution
• The present evil phenomena are rectified in
  other regions, and in some future period of
  existence. (p. 244)
• Cleanthes solution
• Rejects arbitrary suppositions, argues against
  absolute misery and wickedness of man
• Health is more common than sickness pleasure
  than pain happiness than misery. And for one
  vexation which we meet with, we attain, upon
  computation, a hundred enjoyments.

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• Philos response
• One cant prove theres more happiness than
  misery, and although misery may be compatible
  with a benevolent Deity it doesnt prove the
  existence of one.
• and central thesis regarding the problem of evil
• No Grounds for Inference from this World to a
  Benevolent Creator
• Why?
• The Consideration of Four Circumstances
• 1.  Capacity of Pain
• 2.  General Laws of the World
• 3.  Great Frugality
• 4.  Imperfection of Nature

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Conclusions

• Negative modest there can be no grounds for
  such an inference
• Positive (speculation) regarding First Cause
  Which is most probable?
• All-good
• All-bad
• Both good and bad
• Neither good not bad

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Part XII

• Demea has departed
• Philo appears to accept it as reasonable that
  there is some Deity (but we can know very little
  about him)
• The conclusion of natural theology is this That
  the cause or causes of order in the universe
  probably bear some remote analogy to human
  intelligence. (p. 262)
• Cleanthes then argues that corrupted religion is
  better than no religion at all since it preserves
  morals
• Philo argues strongly against this position by
  emphasizing the terrors of religion, but allows
  that true religion, which is a matter of the
  heart and conduct, is not pernicious, but rare.

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Then theres this claim

• To be a philosophical sceptic is the first and
  most essential step towards being a sound,
  believing Christian. (p. 262)
• Whose view do you favor?
• Pamphilus favors Cleanthes over Philo, and Philo
  over Demea.

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Group Timed Writing

• Which of the four related texts did you find most
  interesting or significant and why? Explain the
  central argument of that text.
• Hume on Evil by Nelson Pike
• The Problem of Evil by John Hick
• The Problem of Goodness by Steven Cahn
• The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of
  Atheism by William Rowe