David Humes Views On Natural Religion - 2294 Words

In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, David Hume challenges the existence of God by presenting three different arguments from the perspectives of three philosophers. First is that of the fideist, Demea, who presents the weakest argument. The reader is quickly aware that this perspective is the least believable according to Hume. Although Hume quickly dismisses the idea of faith as a basis for the existence of God, he uses faith as a wedge in the attempt to break apart the argument of for intelligent design presented by the second character Cleanthes. A majority of the Dialogues is dedicated to this cause, as the strongest argument is from the perspective of intelligent design. The third character, Philo, is the skeptic wielding the pickaxe, and believed to be the voice of Hume, has the most difficult time dismantling this concept. By the end of the dialogue, it is unclear as to the true position that Hume is taking concerning natural theology. It is my understanding that H ume would accept the existence of God through the perspective of natural theology, if it were not deterred by the misuse of a Deity through organized religion as a means to control the masses. Because of this misuse, it is understandable why Hume remained a skeptic (at least publically) for the duration of his life (Craig 486-512). As we begin the Dialogues, Demea is complimenting Cleanthes on the education of his young student, Pamphilus. I find the compliment disingenuous. I believe it servesShow MoreRelatedHumes Ethics1047 Words   |  5 PagesHume’s Ethics Contents 1. Introduction 2. Hume’s ethics as an emotive theory of ethics 3. Conclusion 4. Bibliography David Hume is an outstanding Scottish philosopher of the 18th century whose views has a significant impact on the following generations of thinkers throughout the world. His sceptical arguments concerning induction, causation and especially religion, including his famous thesis that human knowledge arises only from sense experience and not from rational judgments, shaped theRead MoreEssay on An Analysis of Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion4493 Words   |  18 PagesAn Analysis of Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion ABSTRACT: Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) may be read in the way Cleanthes (and Philo as well) reads Nature, as analogous to human artifice and contrivance. The Dialogues and Nature then are both texts, with an intelligent author or Author, and analogies may be started from these five facts of Humes text: the independence of Humes characters; the non-straightforwardness of the characters discourse; the way theRead MoreBy 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 MoreWilliam Paley And David Hume1260 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle. This discussion will focus on the differing works of authors William Paley and David Hume and I will argue that there is an Intelligent Designer for our universe. William Paley believes in the existence of God and that through his watchmaker analogy in â€Å"Natural Theology† he can prove that there is an Intelligent Designer. David Hume addresses William Paley’s argument in â€Å"Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion† and argues Paley’s analogy is weak since Hume believes we cannot analogize earthlyRead MoreDavid Humes Anti Miracle Belief Essay1577 Words   |  7 Pagescenturies. 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 illuminatingRead MoreDavid Hume Essay1210 Words   |  5 PagesDavid Hume Hume, David, 1711-76, Scottish philosopher and historian. Hume carried the empiricism of John Locke and George Berkeley to the logical extreme of radical skepticism. He repudiated the possibility of certain knowledge, finding in the mind nothing but a series of sensations, and held that cause-and-effect in the natural world derives solely from the conjunction ofRead MoreDavid Humes Theory of Ethics Essay1675 Words   |  7 PagesDavid Hume is considered to be one of the big three British empiricists, along with Hobbes and Locke, and lived near the end of the Enlightenment. The Catholic Church was losing its control over science, politics and philosophy and the Aristotelian world view was being swallowed up by a more mechanistic viewpoint. Galileo found the theory provided by Copernicus to be correct, that our earth was not the center of everything, but the celestial bodies including the earth circled the sun. MathematiciansRead MoreDavid Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Essay1524 Words   |  7 PagesDavid Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion provide conflicting arguments about the nature of the universe, what humans can know about it, and how their knowledge can affect their religious beliefs. The most compelling situation relates to philosophical skepticism and religion ; the empiricist character, Cleanthes, strongly defends his position that skepticism is beneficial to religious belief. Under fire from an agnostic skeptic and a rationalist, the empiricist view on skepticism and religionRead MoreComparing David Hume and Immanuel Kant Essay1356 Words   |  6 PagesComparing David Hume and Immanuel Kant David Hume and Immanuel Kant each made a significant break from other theorists in putting forward a morality that doesn’t require a higher being or god, for a man to recognize his moral duty. Although Hume and Kant shared some basic principals they differed on their view of morality. In comparing the different views on human will and the maxims established to determine moral worth by David Hume and Immanuel Kant, I find their theories on morality have someRead MoreImmanuel Kant And Kant On Morality1097 Words   |  5 Pagesanother, Immanuel Kant and David Hume. Immanuel Kant had many theories throughout his philosophical time. Here are some of his ethical works, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), the Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and the Metaphysics of Morals (1797), which contains both â€Å"the Doctrine of Right† and â€Å"the Doctrine of Virtue.† He also had some other works of importance to his moral philosophy including the Critique of the Power of Judgment (1790), Religion within the Boundaries of Mere