CHECK: hume's criticisms of arguments for the existence of God from natural religion:

Who was David Hume, and why is he significant in discussions of natural theology?

David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher and skeptic who challenged popular beliefs and arguments for God’s existence. His work Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) critically examined natural theology.

What is natural theology?

Natural theology attempts to use reason and observation of the natural world to establish the existence of God.

How is Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion structured, and why did he use this format?

The book is written as a discussion between fictional characters:

• Cleanthes argues for the design argument.

• Philo (Hume’s representative) critiques it.

• Demea defends cosmological arguments.

This format allows Hume to explore criticisms of natural theology through debate.

Why was Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion published posthumously in 1779?

Hume delayed its publication because he anticipated that his criticisms of natural theology would be unpopular.

What is Hume’s criticism of the analogy between a watch and the world?

Hume argued the analogy is weak:

• The characteristics of design and purpose in a watch are obvious, but they are not obvious in the world.

• Watches are designed because the world is not like a watch.

How does Hume argue that the watch’s design contrasts with the natural world?

Watches are noticeably artificial and stand out in nature. We assume design because the watch does not occur naturally, unlike the natural world, which lacks this clarity of design.

What does Hume argue about order in the world?

1. Order does not necessarily mean an intelligent designer exists.

2. We have no other worlds to compare to judge how ordered this one is.

3. Any world that survives will appear ordered because chaotic worlds would not survive.

What example does Hume use to show the limitations of judging order?

Hume points out that since we cannot compare our universe to others, we have no standard to judge its degree of order. Other worlds might exist that are far more ordered.

How does Hume address the idea of chance as an explanation for the world’s order?

Hume argues that self-sustaining order could arise by chance. This idea aligns with Darwin’s later theory (though Hume predates Darwin by 80 years) that creatures suited to their purpose exist because the unfit did not survive.

How does Hume criticize Aquinas’s claim that we can infer God as the cause of the world?

Hume challenges Aquinas’s causal reasoning:

• Observing an effect (the world) does not allow us to confidently infer a cause (God).

• Cause and effect are not that simple.

What does Hume say about inferring the nature of the creator from the world?

Even if a creator exists, we cannot assume the creator is the Christian God.

• The world is finite and imperfect, so there is no reason to assume an infinite, perfect creator.

How does Hume’s analogy of the scales critique assumptions about the universe’s cause?

Hume compares the hidden cause of the universe to a pair of scales where one side is unseen:

• We know one side is heavier, but we cannot determine how much heavier.

• Similarly, we cannot infer the nature of the world’s creator just from observing its effects.

What metaphor does Hume use to challenge the idea of a perfect designer?

Hume uses the example of a ship:

• A ship may appear impressive, but it could have been built by an unskilled mechanic copying others' work after many failed attempts.

This implies the universe could have resulted from many botched efforts.

What is Hume’s quote about imperfect world-making and trials?

"Many worlds might have been botched and bungled, throughout an eternity, ere this system was struck out: much labour lost: many fruitless trials made..."

• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779).

How does Hume question the unity of the Deity?

Hume argues there could be multiple deities who collaborated in creating the world, like humans building a house or city. This would limit the attributes of each deity.

What does Hume say about the uniqueness of the universe and its implications?

Since the universe is unique, we cannot know:

• What it is like.

• What it could have been like.

• How it must have come into being.

Without experience of other worlds, firm conclusions are impossible.

How does Hume challenge the Principle of Sufficient Reason?

Hume argues we can imagine something coming into existence without a cause, so not everything may require an explanation.

How does Hume question the necessity of God as the universe’s cause?

He asks:

“Why may not the material universe be the necessarily existent being?”

This means the universe itself could be eternal and self-sustaining.

How does Bertrand Russell later support Hume’s argument against cosmological arguments?

Russell argues: Just because every human has a mother does not mean the human species as a whole has a mother. This challenges the leap from individual causes to a universal cause.

What is Elizabeth Anscombe’s response to Hume’s idea that something could exist without a cause?

Anscombe argues that imagining something (e.g., a rabbit without parents) does not mean it could exist in reality.

Summarize Hume’s criticisms of natural theology.

Hume uses logic and reason to argue that natural theology makes unjustified leaps:

• Order does not imply design.

• We cannot infer causes from effects.

• The existence of the universe does not require God.