David Hume On Miracles Evidence And Probability

Author : William L. Vanderburgh
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2019-04-04
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781498596947

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David Hume on Miracles, Evidence, and Probability by William L. Vanderburgh Pdf

David Hume’s argument against believing in miracles has attracted nearly continuous attention from philosophers and theologians since it was first published in 1748. Hume’s many commentators, however, both pro and con, have often misunderstood key aspects of Hume’s account of evidential probability and as a result have misrepresented Hume’s argument and conclusions regarding miracles in fundamental ways. This book argues that Hume’s account of probability descends from a long and laudable tradition that goes back to ancient Roman and medieval law. That account is entirely and deliberately non-mathematical. As a result, any analysis of Hume’s argument in terms of the mathematical theory of probability is doomed to failure. Recovering the knowledge of this ancient tradition of probable reasoning leads us to a correct interpretation of Hume’s argument against miracles, enables a more accurate understanding of many other episodes in the history of science and of philosophy, and may be also useful in contemporary attempts to weigh evidence in epistemically complex situations where confirmation theory and mathematical probability theory have proven to be less helpful than we would have hoped.

Author : Robert J. Fogelin
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2010-03-25
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781400825776

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A Defense of Hume on Miracles by Robert J. Fogelin Pdf

Since its publication in the mid-eighteenth century, Hume's discussion of miracles has been the target of severe and often ill-tempered attacks. In this book, one of our leading historians of philosophy offers a systematic response to these attacks. Arguing that these criticisms have--from the very start--rested on misreadings, Robert Fogelin begins by providing a narrative of the way Hume's argument actually unfolds. What Hume's critics (and even some of his defenders) have failed to see is that Hume's primary argument depends on fixing the appropriate standards of evaluating testimony presented on behalf of a miracle. Given the definition of a miracle, Hume quite reasonably argues that the standards for evaluating such testimony must be extremely high. Hume then argues that, as a matter of fact, no testimony on behalf of a religious miracle has even come close to meeting the appropriate standards for acceptance. Fogelin illustrates that Hume's critics have consistently misunderstood the structure of this argument--and have saddled Hume with perfectly awful arguments not found in the text. He responds first to some early critics of Hume's argument and then to two recent critics, David Johnson and John Earman. Fogelin's goal, however, is not to "bash the bashers," but rather to show that Hume's treatment of miracles has a coherence, depth, and power that makes it still the best work on the subject.

Author : John Earman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2000-11-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199880850

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Hume's Abject Failure by John Earman Pdf

This vital study offers a new interpretation of Hume's famous "Of Miracles," which notoriously argues against the possibility of miracles. By situating Hume's popular argument in the context of the eighteenth-century debate on miracles, Earman shows Hume's argument to be largely unoriginal and chiefly without merit where it is original. Yet Earman constructively conceives how progress can be made on the issues that Hume's essay so provocatively posed about the ability of eyewitness testimony to establish the credibility of marvelous and miraculous events.

Author : Francis Beckwith
Publisher : University Press of America
Page : 166 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 1989
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0819174874

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David Hume's Argument Against Miracles by Francis Beckwith Pdf

In this book the author offers a critical analysis of David Hume's argument against miracles from his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, "Of Miracles" is one of the most influential works written in defense of the position that belief in supernatural occurrences is not reasonable. Using Hume's work as a point of departure, the author addresses the two most important epistemological questions asked about miracles: Is it ever reasonable to ascribe a divine source to an anomalous event in order to identify it as miraculous? and What theoretically entails sufficient evidence that a miracle has actually taken place? Contemporary rehabilitations of Hume's argument, as put forth by Antony Flew, Alastair McKinnon, and Patrick Nowell-Smith, are evaluated. Contents: Defining the Miraculous; Hume's Argument, Part 1;Hume's Argument, Part 2;The Rationality of Belief and the Existence of God; Contemporary Rehabilitations of Hume's Argument; and Miracles and Evidence.

Author : David Johnson
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 120 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2018-09-05
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781501731303

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Hume, Holism, and Miracles by David Johnson Pdf

David Johnson seeks to overthrow one of the widely accepted tenets of Anglo-American philosophy—that of the success of the Humean case against the rational credibility of reports of miracles. In a manner unattempted in any other single work, he meticulously examines all the main variants of Humean reasoning on the topic of miracles: Hume's own argument and its reconstructions by John Stuart Mill, J. L. Mackie, Antony Flew, Jordan Howard Sobel, and others.Hume's view, set forth in his essay "Of Miracles," has been widely thought to be correct. Johnson reviews Hume's thesis with clarity and elegance and considers the arguments of some of the most prominent defenders of Hume's case against miracles. According to Johnson, the Humean argument on this topic is entirely without merit, its purported cogency being simply a philosophical myth.

Author : David Hume
Publisher : VM eBooks
Page : 142 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2016-11-10
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume Pdf

Moral philosophy, or the science of human nature, may be treated after two different manners; each of which has its peculiar merit, and may contribute to the entertainment, instruction, and reformation of mankind. The one considers man chiefly as born for action; and as influenced in his measures by taste and sentiment; pursuing one object, and avoiding another, according to the value which these objects seem to possess, and according to the light in which they present themselves. As virtue, of all objects, is allowed to be the most valuable, this species of philosophers paint her in the most amiable colours; borrowing all helps from poetry and eloquence, and treating their subject in an easy and obvious manner, and such as is best fitted to please the imagination, and engage the affections. They select the most striking observations and instances from common life; place opposite characters in a proper contrast; and alluring us into the paths of virtue by the views of glory and happiness, direct our steps in these paths by the soundest precepts and most illustrious examples. They make us feel the difference between vice and virtue; they excite and regulate our sentiments; and so they can but bend our hearts to the love of probity and true honour, they think, that they have fully attained the end of all their labours.

Author : David Hume
Publisher : Open Court Classics
Page : 70 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UCAL:B4953004

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Of Miracles by David Hume Pdf

Author : George Campbell
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1834
Category : Miracles
ISBN : NLS:V000281975

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A Dissertation on Miracles by George Campbell Pdf

Author : George CAMPBELL (Professor of Divinity in Marischal College.)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 1796
Category : Electronic
ISBN : BL:A0018959887

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A Dissertation on Miracles: containing an examination of the principles advanced by David Hume, Esq; in an Essay on miracles by George CAMPBELL (Professor of Divinity in Marischal College.) Pdf

Author : John W. Loftus
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2019-11-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1839193069

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The Case Against Miracles by John W. Loftus Pdf

For as long as the idea of "miracles" has been in the public sphere, the conversation about them has been shaped exclusively by religious apologists and Christian leaders. The definitions for what a miracles are have been forged by the same men who fought hard to promote their own beliefs as fitting under that umbrella. It's time for a change. Enter John W. Loftus, an atheist author who has earned three master's degrees from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Loftus, a former student of noted Christian apologist William Lane Craig, got some of the biggest names in the field to contribute to this book, which represents a critical analysis of the very idea of miracles. Incorporating his own thoughts along with those of noted academics, philosophers, and theologians, Loftus is able to properly define "miracle" and then show why there's no reason to believe such a thing even exists. Addressing every single issue that touches on miracles in a thorough and academic manner, this compilation represents the most extensive look at the phenomenon ever displayed through the lens of an ardent nonbeliever. If you've ever wondered exactly what a miracle is, or doubted whether they exist, then this book is for you.

Author : Robert A. Larmer
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 1996-08-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780773566057

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Questions of Miracle by Robert A. Larmer Pdf

Questions of Miracle will be a valuable reference book and teaching tool for scholars and students of theology, religious studies, and philosophy. Contents The Logic of Probabilities in Hume's Argument against Miracles - Fred Wilson (Toronto) David Hume and the Miraculous - Robert Larmer Miracles and the Laws of Nature - Robert Larmer Against Miracles - John Collier (University of Newcastle) Against "Against Miracles" - Robert Larmer Miracles and Conservation Laws - Neil MacGill (UNB) Miracles and Conservation Laws: A Reply to Professor MacGill - Robert Larmer Miracles and Criteria - Robert Larmer Miracles and Natural Explanations - David Basinger (Roberts Wesleyan College) Miracles and Natural Explanations: A Rejoinder - Robert Larmer Miracles as Evidence for Theism: A Surrejoinder - David Basinger Miracles, Evidence, and Theism: A Further Apologia - Robert Larmer Authenticating Biblical Reports of Miracles - Phillip Wiebe (Trinity Western University) Miracles and Testimony: A Reply to Wiebe - Robert Larmer Miracles as Evidence against the Existence of God - Christine Overall (Queen's) Miracles and the Existence of God: A Reply - Robert Larmer.

Author : Colin Howson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198250371

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Hume's Problem by Colin Howson Pdf

This volume offers a solution to one of the central, unsolved problems of Western philosophy, that of induction. It explores the implications of Hume's argument that successful prediction tells us nothing about the truth of the predicting theory.

Author : Erik J. Wielenberg
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 243 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Electronic books
ISBN : 0511354746

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God and the Reach of Reason by Erik J. Wielenberg Pdf

This book puts C. S. Lewis, David Hume, and Bertrand Russell in dialogue with one another.

Author : George Campbell
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1807
Category : Miracles
ISBN : NYPL:33433068237753

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A Dissertation on Miracles by George Campbell Pdf

Author : Lee Strobel
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2018-03-27
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310343349

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The Case for Miracles by Lee Strobel Pdf

New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel trains his investigative sights on the hot-button question: is it really credible to believe God intervenes supernaturally in people's lives today? This provocative book starts with an unlikely interview in which America's foremost skeptic builds a seemingly persuasive case against the miraculous. But then Strobel travels the country to quiz scholars to see whether they can offer solid answers to atheist objections. Along the way, he encounters astounding accounts of healings and other phenomena that simply cannot be explained away by naturalistic causes. The book features the results of exclusive new scientific polling that shows miracle accounts are much more common than people think. What's more, Strobel delves into the most controversial question of all: what about miracles that don't happen? If God can intervene in the world, why doesn't he do it more often to relieve suffering? Many American Christians are embarrassed by the supernatural, not wanting to look odd or extreme to their neighbors. Yet, The Case for Miracles shows not only that the miraculous is possible, but that God still does intervene in our world in awe-inspiring ways. Here’s a unique book that examines all sides of this issue and comes away with a passionate defense for God's divine action in lives today. Also available: The Case for Miracles Spanish edition, kids' edition, and student edition.