...Hume and miracles Examine Hume’s views on miracles. Hume rejected the idea of miracles due to his belief they were beyond the realms of reasonable belief there are other interpretations of the events which would be more likely. Hume believes wise and sensible people will form their beliefs on evidence. Therefore it must be more likely that it is true than it being false before they believe it. Hume argued we should weigh up the evidence in the case of miracles. We should look at which more likely; natural rules will have held good, or is it more likely that a miracle will have taken place. By Hume’s thinking our past experiences have shown us that for example, we can’t turn water into wine, we can’t rise from the dead, we can’t walk on water, therefore the whole weight of past experiences we have had bears this out. This leads to us being sceptical when it comes when looking at reports that something different has happened. You have several choices when/if someone tells you they’ve witnessed a miracle. You could believe what the person is telling you, if you know the person well enough and know they usually tell the truth then you would do so. However, you could believe that the person is mistaken or deceiving you on purpose. For Hume, he argued that a reasonable person would choose the most likely of the choices, even though it may be unlikely that the person is deceiving you and unlikely that they’ve made a mistake it will always be more unlikely that a miracle has...
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...interprets an event as an act of God and another does not? Hume Created a case against miracles saying not that they do not happen, but that it would be impossible to prove them – he is an empiricist (bases knowledge on experience). A miracle is ‘A transgression of a law of nature brought about by a particular violation of a Deity’. Nothing that can happen in nature should be called a miracle. Had 5 arguments against believing in miracles; one philosophical and four psychological. Not enough evidence of miracles to outweigh our general experience. Rationality requires that belief is proportionate to evidence. ‘A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence’. Insufficient witnesses – must be witnessed by a highly credible, good sense, well-educated person. How much education is ‘enough’? The testimonies usually came from ignorant and barbarous nations. People tend to exaggerate and are drawn towards the sensational and drama. The often have a desire to believe. There are conflicting claims that cancel each other out. Hick’s response would be that all religions lead to one God though. Hume will never be fully able to fully prove to believers that miracles do not occur, as the definition of a miracle implies divine activity and this is ultimately beyond our earthly considerations. But sceptics and believers can be said to both agree that the occurrence of miracles must be a very rare event. Critque of Hume Hick would say that we do not know the laws of nature, and...
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...Hume was a verificationist and approached miracles from an empirical view, relying on probability as a basis for his reasons for rejecting miracles. Hume defined miracles as a ‘violation of the laws of nature’, he believed that the laws of nature were set in stone, through the use of a posteriori knowledge Hume identified them as being universal and unchanging. Hume observed that some Biblical miracles, such as Jesus walking on water, violated those laws of nature. He then went on to identify the probability that a violation of these laws could occur, Hume argued that if the probability of an event occurring was low then there was little chance that the miracle had actually occurred. This would be true in the event of a baby falling from a 3rd floor window and escaping unscathed, the probability of this happening is extremely low thus Hume would state that a report of it happening was false and it probably did not happen. Through using the principle of probability a miraculous event should be labelled as a miracle only where it would be unbelievable for it to be anything less. Upon following this principle it is less likely that the testimony is false than the miracle occurred should you have a prior belief, however if you do not believe in a deity and the probability of a miracle occurring then the miracles happening is less likely than the testimony being false. This argument used by Hume is not an effective argument as there are cases in which the laws of nature have been...
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...Hume defines miracles as a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent. David Hume has 4 main criticisms that this essay will explore and look at the responses to these criticisms. For Hume, a miracle such as Jesus curing the paralytic is an example of an event which suggests that something happened which broke the laws of nature. It is important to understand what Hume means by the law of nature, as his ideas are slightly different from those of scientists today. Hume uses the law of nature to show how the universe works. He does not say that miracles don’t exist, they are just not reliable and we should not base our faith on them. David Hume’s first criticism of miracles is that the uniform of testimony of all human experience of nature hold. Hume argues that the probability of miracles actually happening is to low that it is irrational and illogical to believe that miracles do occur. He is an empiricist, meaning that he emphasises experience and observations of the world as the way of learning new things. So, Hume is arguing inductively. He argues that when investigating any story of a miracle, evidence can be collected such as from human witnesses. Laws of nature appear to be fixed and unvarying. For example, the law of gravity is the same throughout the universe so far as we know. Miracles appear to violate the laws of nature. He concludes that it is more likely that the report of a miracle happening...
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...Hume defined miracles as a “violation of the laws of nature” and consequently rejected their occurrence as both improbable and impractical. This view has been supported by modern scientists and philosophers such as Atkins, Dawkins and Wiles to a certain extent. However Aquinas, Tillich and Holland and Swinburne to a certain extent reject Hume’s reasons, instead arguing that miracles have a divine cause and that Hume’s arguments are weak. This essay will argue that Hume’s reasons for rejecting miracles are not valid and in doing so consider his two main arguments; lack of probability and Hume’s practical argument. Hume’s first reason for rejecting miracles was a lack of probability. He argued that evidence from people’s experience of observing the world showed the laws of nature to be fixed and unvarying. However to suggest a miracle occurred was to say that the laws of nature had been violated, hence his definition of miracles being a “violation of the laws of nature.” Miracles were reported has having occurred by eyewitnesses, as is stated in the Bible in the case of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. However for Hume it was far more likely that the eyewitnesses were mistaken in what they witnessed, than for Jesus to have actually raised Lazarus from the dead and in doing so violated fixed laws of nature. A violation of the laws of nature was therefore an improbable occurrence. Wiles’ agrees with Hume’s point that it is more likely the eyewitness was wrong than a miracle...
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...arguments in support of them David Hume proposed his definition of a miracle but in spite of this Hume had criticisms claiming that it was not reasonable to believe in miracles as the evidence was totally unreliable. He stated two weaknesses to the belief in miracles: 1) Based on our large experience of natural laws, it makes more sense to say that there is some other explanation for example that we cannot know every natural law. For example, had Jesus been crucified in our time and come back to life after three days. Overall this could be regarded as a miracle today but it might not be considered as a miracle in the future 2) The evidence of miracles often comes from the testimony of others. We should not rely on such second-hand accounts, because accounts of others cannot be trusted. For example in Fatima thousands of witnesses claimed to have seen the sun spin and fall out of the sky however the witnesses may have been deceived because of their excitement. Firstly, Hume challenged the testimonies of miraculous occurrences on the ground that there were not enough reliable witnesses. There have never been enough a miracle which has been witnessed by a sufficiently large number reliable, objective witnesses. For example there will never be a large enough amounts of educated, reasonable, trustworthy and respected men for us to believe their testimony the resurrection of Jesus was seen by a significant number of people. Secondly, Hume was sceptical of the fact that...
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...is filled with epic fights that lead to a great amount of bloodshed and celebrations for the hero. Beowulf’s writer created a great deal of complications when writing this poem. He used many themes and symbols the portray his tragic poem. The characters are very unclear but each have their reasoning for being in the poem, one being revenge on something or someone. Kathryn Hume stated, “ If a good man and the abstraction “ troublemaking” are given heroic shapes and matched in contest, we expect the good man to win, for troublemaking is not a sin likely to overcome him” (10). “ The early history of every nation is full of legend and myth. In literature, people try to record and describe the early history and to honor their heros in poems, epics, and folklores” (Wang 52). Beowulf is the main character throughout the poem, however the author tells us nothing about Beowulf’s past life other than his father was a great warrior as well as Beowulf himself. However, a young age Beowulf was considered cowardly. “ Were the poem centered on Beowulf himself, we would expect to learn something about him as a person” (Hume 2). The little we do know about Beowulf is still a great amount on his courage. He fights three battles and with each one he portrays a little bit of heroism. “Though he was little-known when coming to the Danes, he is full of courage and energy. Though he decreases in his strength in his old age, he always keeps with him hope, courage, and the sense of responsibility. This...
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...defining them as: ‘a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent.’ He puts forward two separate arguments against miracles; one being a priori and the other being a posteriori. The first of his arguments is based on the lack of probability and is a priori. Hume argues that miracles are violations of the laws of nature and a ‘firm and unalterable experience’ has established these laws of nature. He did not deny that these events, miracles, would not happen; but instead said that they are the least likely event possible, and improbable events need witnesses of higher credibility than witnesses required for more probable events. Hume argued that even the most impressive testimony will at most counterbalance the unlikeliness of the event. Clearly, a serious weakness in Hume’s argument is that his line of thinking, empirical, is fundamentally flawed due to an inclination not to believe anything which is unlikely; he implies that it is always more reasonable to believe the more probable event. The second part of Hume’s rejection of miracles is a posteriori, and shows the criteria that Hume laid down for a miracle to occur. Firstly, there must be...
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...‘Those things…which are done by divine power apart from the order generally followed in things.’ Plus his threefold understanding of miracles. Hume: ‘a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity.’ John Mackie: ‘a violation of a natural law…by divine or supernatural intervention. The laws of nature describe the ways in which the world – including of course, human beings – works when left to itself, when not interfered with. A miracle occurs when the world is not left to itself, when something distinct from the natural order as a whole intrudes into it.’ Richard Swinburne: ‘a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature, that is, a non-repeatable exception to the operation of these laws, brought about by God. Laws of nature have the form of universal statements “all As are B,” and state how bodies behave of physical necessity.’ Examples of miracles: miracles of Jesus, choir in Beatrice Nebraska. What the scholars say in favour of miracles: Aquinas: it is possible for God to bring about a miracle, providing it is not logically impossible (e.g. God could not square a circle). Keith Ward: laws of nature are probabilistic not fixed: it is possible for laws of nature to be bent. Miracles are likely to happen in the presence of deeply religious people. What scholars say against miracles: David Hume: 5 criticisms of miracles: 1. Miracles need huge amounts of evidence to corroborate them; 2. People believe in miracles because they...
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...Yes, Hume is legitimate to anticipate that one should never be convinced to the occurrence of a miracle based on the testimony but by the evidence of rightful experiences. Hume described a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined. For example, stones that drink milk - found to be faked and a woman miraculously escaped crushing by a truck in Nagpur. Both the incidents happened in India, where religious beliefs take hierarchy over the scientifically proved facts. First example, stones that drink milk. This rumor became a viral talk that spread all over the country through media. In return, the public thronged to the temple to see the idol of god drinking milk. Number of devotees who visit the temple has drastically increased within days with so many offerings left at temple in the form of money and gold to the god. In fact, it is proved to be just a falsehood testimony by the illiterate people who thought that the god himself made his presence on earth. Scientists explained it as caused by capillary action of the material of the statue that absorbed the milk offered by the devotees. Second example, a woman miraculously escapes the death crush by a truck in Nagpur, India. It is a true testimony which on listening no one would believe. This is really a miracle and it has evidence...
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...then argues that the text’s essentially feminist point is emphasized by the fact that the narrator is destroyed by society, where she can never get free. Initially, she debates between two possibilities of what happens to the narrator in the end: she is either liberated in her madness or is defeated by it. Then she proceeds to consider the implications of the wallpaper itself. According to critics referred to by Hedges, the entangled pattern of the wallpaper itself represents a crucial text and it has been argued that this text is not written by the narrator. Instead, it is the text of social conventions and rules presented to her by her husband, and through him by the male-dominated society, where she is not allowed to write her own story. This is one of the reasons why her text then becomes “hopelessly encrypted in fantasy” (Hedges 225). Other interpretations connect the color and smell of the wallpaper to the narrator’s “sexual self-disgust” (225), also linked to her recently giving birth. Furthermore, there are possible racial connotations, reflecting the obsession with the “massive immigration at the time from southern and eastern Europe and Asia” (227). Ultimately, Hedges argues, the narrator’s aim is to reclaim her own independence, taken away by...
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...Albert Rosales Professor: Gill Intro Philosophy: 213 In writing this paper, I was apprehensive by the immensity of the task that was required of me, having never studied Philosophy and philosophers before this class and not having a good understanding of it. I could not begin to comprehend Metaphysics, Ethics Epistemology etc. if it was not for this course. This may sound ignorant but I had never really given any thought to my worldview. If asked what I believed about something I would give my belief and that was that. What exactly is a worldview? A worldview is what it sounds like. It is the way one may see the world or as Nash puts it in his book Life’s Ultimate Questions “the sum total of a person’s answers to the most important questions in life(392).” Everyone has a worldview whether we realize it or not. How does one get their worldview? Our education, our upbringing, the culture we live in, the books we read, the media and movies we watch, all can help shape our worldview. Nash says, “Worldviews contain at least five clusters of beliefs, namely, beliefs about God, metaphysics (ultimate reality), epistemology (knowledge), ethics and human nature (14).” Using these five sections I will share my worldview. In general my worldview is a Christian one. I believe that there is one God who exists in three forms who created the Heavens and the earth. In the Bible Genesis 1:1 tells of how God is the beginning of everything; he created the heavens and the earth out of nothing...
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...encapsulates the post-modern world of today. In “This is Water,” Wallace opens with the following “parable-ish” story: There are two young fish and they happen to meet an older fish, who nods at them and says, “Morning boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?” This opening paragraph makes us acutely aware of how “the exact same experience can mean two completely different things to two different people, given those people’s two different belief templates and two different ways of constructing meaning from experience.” (Wallace, p.24, 2009) It also speaks of the human’s tendency towards self-worship, where we become so self-involved that we refuse to...
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...scholars, including Aquinas and Hume, with Hume believing they are impossible but cannot be disproved compared to Aquinas believing they are completely possible even within the system of natural activity. What a miracle is can be debated forever due to the many different interpretations of who and why they come about, with psychologists such as Freud arguing they are just an illusion and Wiles arguing that miracles do exist but not as a result of God’s will. The real question is whether the laws of nature can ever be broken and to that affect – do miracles define themselves into non-existence? The definition of a miracle provided by Hume is “a transgression of the laws of nature brought about by the volition of a deity.” He believes that miracles are simply an interposition by some invisible agent, but he however goes on to challenge this definition with his theoretical case miracles which argued that the laws of nature we experience are constant and therefore cannot be changed, In response to this, as the laws of nature cannot be defied, (if they could be broken they would not be laws), by Hume’s definition, miracles can never happen, as laws of nature are fixed. Hume also does not believe in the supernatural, so to state that miracles can only be brought about by the will of a higher being is again saying that miracles can never happen because that higher being does not exist, and therefore cannot make an event, such as a miracle, happen. Hume believed that to look beyond this...
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...THE CONCEPTS OF LITERATURE IN WESTERN AND ISLAMIC TRADITION By NUR 'ABIDAH ABD SAMAD Literature can be defined as a man’s creation using fictional quality, described with language, in order to serve certain purposes. Literature entails a vast array of forms including prose, novel, drama and poetry. This discussion covers the concepts of literature in the Western and Islamic tradition. To further explore the above dichotomy, this paper identifies the unifying function of both literatures as enhancing knowledge of self. Besides, this essay also clarifies the function of literature as a didactic instrument of teaching from both different traditions. In addition, by comparing these two traditions, there is a clear explication of the elements of fantasy and reality infused in both literary traditions. Lastly, this essay concludes with the value-judgment of evaluating good or bad literature. Muhammad Qutb defines ‘Islamic literature’ as literature written by people belonging to Muslim writers as well as works by non-Muslim writers who deal with Islamic values in their views (M. Badawi, 1993, p. 50). Islamic conception of literature is significantly derived from the very first word of the Qur’anic revelation iqra’, an instruction to read, followed by the word ‘al-Qalam’ which carries the meaning that reads: “it was God who taught man with pen” (96: 4), which indicates the ultimate role of reading and knowledge to Muslim...
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