David Humes Anti Miracle Belief Essay - 1577 Words

The problem of miracles is an ancient one that has persisted for most of human history, but that has been addressed with some depth only in the last few centuries. The great empiricist philosopher David Hume was one of the first to present an analysis of miracles that tried to explain why they are created (by human beings themselves, in Hume’s opinion) and why people are so ready to believe in them. This is an important field of study, as with greater knowledge of the character of physical law, one finds more and more (rather than less) accounts of miracles being touted as exceptions to natural laws. Hume’s ideas on the matter are extremely illuminating and amazingly enough, are fairly universal in their applicability as regards†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœSection X: Of Miracles’ pp.534- 543. Note: All references to Hume will be to this text unless otherwise noted. 2 fact, that is what we must consider when we think about miracles. This experience can be our own or be the testimony of someone else. However, as Hume notes, experience sometimes leads us to uncertain conclusions. As an important example, causes and effects may not rigidly adhere to each other all the time, so that there is an inherent uncertainty about such relationships. Also, testimony can be quite untrustworthy at times and there must be sufficient reason for considering it as proper evidence. It is for this reason that Hume proposes a method whereby one might possess degrees of belief about phenomena based on the evidence. The belief in a conclusion, according to Hume, must be proportional to the evidence in its favor (p.534). This method, to which I shall henceforth allude to as The Arithmetic of Doubt, consists of first collecting all the evidence (for or against) relevant to the point in question and based on which evidence is greater; deciding which side of the argument is the more probable one. Finally, the strength of this probability is proportional to the (qualitative) difference between the forces of the two competing sets of evidence (p.535). This, Hume maintains, is the way to understand, with some degree of accuracy, the degree of truth or falsity of a proposition that does not have an absolute conclusionShow MoreRelatedBy Definition Miracles Do Not Occur Essay1398 Words   |  6 PagesBy Definition Miracles Do Not Occur Even in this modern age, belief in the miraculous is widespread and is a feature of many world religions, including the Christian faith where miracles have played a significant role. It is important attempt to define what a miracle is, as this in itself is a source for debate. Today the term ‘miracle’ in many different ways and the idea is open to many interpretations. A miracle can be defined in a number of ways, firstly asRead MoreSources of Ethics20199 Words   |  81 Pagessuch changes should be brought about by identifying environmental policies with Islamic teachings. To do this, the public education system will have to supplement the scientific approach to environmental education with serious attention to Islamic belief and environmental awareness. 2.14- Ethics And Other Religion: Anyone who is able to overcome infant indoctrination and consider theistic religions objectively has no trouble in judging them to be completely false and simply the product of