Miracles Lesson 5

Question 1

What is humes views on miracles?

Answer 1

-A miracle is an event which violates natural law (the way nature works)

-It is carried out through the will of the Deity/God.

-Miracles could be performed by angels/invisible agents.

Question 2

What does hume say about someone making a claim of a miricle?

Answer 2

-If someone claims to have seen a miracle, Hume will weigh up the likelihood of the event against the likelihood of deception (either the person has been deceived or is trying to fool him) Hume then rejects the
less likely of the two.

-Only way he will believe in a miracle is if the falsity of the person’s testimony is less likely than the miracle itself

Question 3

What is Hume’s most famout quite about evidence?

Answer 3

-A wise man proportions his belief according to the evidence…

Question 4

How does Hume develop his argument with psychology?

Answer 4

-Hume develops his argument from a psychological perspective, arguing that miracles are part of the psychology of belief, which is a spiral of self-delusion in which belief is merit-worthy and disbelief is sinful. He makes the following claims:

-“There is an end of common sense.” Humans are naturally credulous. People of common sense become less sensible when it comes to miracles because they believe it to be holy. This can spiral as the more the story is magnified, the more people believe it and so he continues to magnify the miracle further.

Question 5

What does Wiles say about miracles?

Answer 5

• Believed in God but not that God would cause miracles, as it would mean he would lack omnibenevolence, as he chooses when to preform miracles.
• So either God is not omnibenevolent or he never does miracles. Wiles accepts the latter option.