Eduqas Alevel RS Theme 3: F Comparative study of Hume and Swinburne

was Hume for or against miracles

He tries to define miracles out of existence

what is Humes definition for a miracle

a transgression of law of nature by a particular violation of the deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent

was Swinburne for or against miracles

for them, acting as a christian apologist

what is swiburne's definition of a miracle

a violation of a law of nature by a God, that is very powerful rational being who not a material object

what is Hume's definition of a natural law

Inviolable laws that are established through firm and unaltrable experience. We have a uniform experience that tells us which kinds of events can happen and which cannot

what is Swinburne's definition of a natural law

may be a universal or statistical in form:

- Universal - Stipulate what must happen

- statistical - indicate what will probably happen

larger scale events appear to conform to universal laws but are still statistical in nature

what are Hume's points against miracles in his essays

1. a philosophical look at how the evidence against the occurrence of a miracle outweighs the evidence for one

2. aim to show that although in theory the evidence for one could outweigh the evidence in practice it never does

what is part 1 of Hume's argument about evidence and testimony

Hume said "a wise man proportions his belief to evidence" saying that you will believe the side that has more evidence. So if event E happens:

-E is constant with the laws of nature and is a full proof (drop a pen it will fall to the floor)

-E is a variable on a law of nature is we must weigh up the proportionate probability of it having happened against it having not happened (the water was in at Parkgate which is highly unlikely, not impossible, so would need more investigating.

-E is considered a miracle. This is an issue as it means it goes fully against the LofN that we know through unalterable experience. As a result the testimony does not act as proof, but instead brings about probability. What would need to be the case for the probability a miraculous event happening be higher than it not. (the testimony does not act as proof as it is too unlikely, you need it to have lots of examples of say someone rising from the dead, it needs to happen so often it becomes expected meaning it is no longer a miracle.)

- "that no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which endeavours to establish"

what is part 2 of Hume's argument against the possibility of miracles regarding witnesses and susceptibility of belief

1. Number of witnesses - witnesses were immune from delusion, witnesses were unimpeachable, witnesses have nothing to loose of gain, event or fact so public so as to render detection of falsehood unavoidable. --?> they have to have had good education and not be fools, no religious leaders, sufficient number of men (how trustworthy is the account)

2. the Love of stories - people may know that the miracle is not true , but get caught up in it and go along with it for the sake of a good, holy cause. --> people believe them just because they are nice and makes the community feel together, gives joy and hope to tell and sharing good news, more likely to believe it

3. unreliable witnesses - miracles happen in stupid and barbarous nations and those who believe in them are stupid and barbarous. And if someone who believes in them and does not come from a " " nation then they have learnt it from someone from the ignorant and barbarous nation. Jesus devoted his time to the poor and illiterate, nothing to loose and nothing to gain.

4. conflicting claims - the claims of one religion might massively conflict and disprove other religious beliefs. All religions are therefore wrong, we should disregard the stories and over throw the competitors - we don't believe the greek God myths so we should we believe these stories

what are Swinburne's arguments about miracles about evidence and testimony

there are 4 kinds of evidence:

1. private memories

2. the testimony of others

3. physical evidence

4. our understanding of natural laws (only serves to check the other kinds of evidence)

All of these sound as evidence as much it is possible. If there is more evidence for the event than against it, it probably did happen. If we are sceptical about the accounts of miracles then we must be sceptical about all historical accounts of events for the same reasons. We should apply the PRINCIPLE OF CREDULITY which is if an event seems to have happened, then it probably has unless there is reason for it to have not happened

what is the principle of credulity

Swinburne's principle that we should usually believe what our senses tell us we are perceiving

what are Swinburne's arguments about miracles about credibility of witnesses and susceptivity of belief

Hume's standards are unreasonably high: What is a sufficient number of witnesses? What is sufficient education? Not all religious thinkers are liars.

Different kinds of evidence have different weights:

Our own is better than someone else's? someone reliable is better than someone unreliable. A large number is better than a small number. Hume is being Bigoted by disregarding all religious testimony

If we are sceptical of peoples claims of miracles, then we should be sceptical about all their personal experiences for the same reason. We should apply the principle of testimony - if someone says that an event happened then it probably has unless we have reason to doubt their claims

what is the principle of testimony

Swinburne's principle that we should usually trust that other people are telling us the truth unless we have reason to doubt their claims

what does Swinburne say about contradictory nature of miracles with different religions

religious miracles could be, but never are contradictory.

- A Roman Catholic priest praying for a miracle to demonstrate transubstantiation

- A protestant priest prang for a miracle to demonstrate that Transubstantiation is idolatrous

These would be contradictory, but neither such miracle has ever occurred. True miracles from any source simply show the power or benevolence of God

what does Hume say about contradictory nature of miracles with different religions

conflicting claims - the claims of one religion might massively conflict and disprove other religious beliefs. All religions are therefore wrong, we should disregard the stories and over throw the competitors - we don't believe the greek God myths so we should we believe these stories

what is the conclusion of Hume

no testimony is efficient enough to establish a miracle. A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence and there is more evidence that there Is no miracle than there is one

what is the conclusion of Swinburne

there is no logical difficulties in supposing that there could be strong historical evidence for the occurrence of miracles

how does Swinburne identify a non repeatable counter instance

He says one must:

1. Have good reason to believe event E happened contrary to law L, and that In similar circumstances it wouldn't happen again and that we have evidence law L is a real law of nature

2. We cannot modify law L without it giving false predictions in other circumstances

3. If we leave law L unmodified then we have good reason to believe that it will give correct predictions in all other conceivable circumstances

can a NRCI really happen

If event E did happen how do we know it won't happen again? This is key to Swinburne otherwise his argument would breakdown. Anthony Flew says that the reason Hume rejects things like the resurrection is historical evidence. This evidence refers to singular past event that is no longer able to be tested or studied. Instead Hume puts faith in the empirical, which can be tested by anyone at anytime.

what evidence does Swinburne say we can use for miracles

- the character and the mind or the witness

- physical traces if the event

- there is verbal and written testimony

- present events resulting from the miracle

- multiple accounts

- the effect it has on modern day people is monumental

what does Swinburne think the role of God is

He compares Him to a parent who will grant a miracle when asked, but not always. He talks about confirmation of doctrine. He talks bout the confirmation of belief. Essentially, he pushes the need for there to be purpose in miracles. God controls these laws, so can sometimes play with them like a parent. Essentially saying If we have other evidence of God, and a miracle is an event you would expect of this God, then likelihood is it was God. The role of God wold tie in with human intentions such as:

- healings

- safety from danger

- freedom from persecution

what was the miracle of the tomb of abbé Paris

-- Took place In Paris in the first half of the 18th century (civilised and in Humes lifestyle)

-The miracle of the tomb of Abbott Paris, it was May 1, 1727 at the height of the power struggle that Francis de Paris died and was interred in the parish cemetery of Saint Medard Paris. Because of the Abbé's saintly reputation worshipers had began to gather at tomb and from the beginning a host of miraculous healing were reported. Such as cancerous tumours paralysis, arthritis, fevers and blindness were all cured. This is not all the mourning also start experiencing strange involuntary spasms or convulsions and undergo the most amazing contortions of the limbs. Seizures, contagious, spreading they had the ability to endure without harm and variety physical torches including beatings or strangulation, no traces of wounds or bruising. some Could even read their eyes closed and some could levitate. - this will be hard to disprove as many things that happened there today goes against Humes ideas such as the fact that they were thousands of observers , officials from every educational religious and governmental institutions came and both official and unofficial accounts were of the miracles were witnessed and recorded and documented. The Catholic Church who had invested interest in disproving the miracles but they still went away confirming them., this shows how it’s hard to disprove it so many people are there, it was documented and proved to be true by the Catholic Church who are the strictest denomination - they went on a few years later to say that it was the work of the devil.

what issues for analysis arise when evaluating miracles

1. the impact of religious experiences upon religious belief and practice

2. whether religious communities are entirely dependent on religious experience

3. the adequacy of different definitions of miracles

4. how far different definitions of miracles can be considered contradictory

5. the effectiveness of the challenges to the belief in miracles

6. the extent to which Swinburne responses to Hume can be excepted as valid

what is the impact of religious experiences upon religious belief and practice

have impact:

- RE is the source of knowledge from the divine to enable the development of teaching

- It is the thing that inspires people to follow and remain in their faith

- It is one of Smarts seven dimensions of religion; it cannot be separated from it

- it keeps religious community together through experience of rituals and teaching

no impact:

- we can understand and respond to a communities needs without such experience

- people need community an friends rather than abstract experiences

- Smarts dimensions are all present in secular communities too

- experiences can include simply going to church in the same way one can go to the shop

some impact:

- an initial foundation experience might be good and inspire faith, but not everyone needs to have one

- religious experiences are interesting myths that give structure to religion but nothing more

- they are part of what religion is, but not the only thing nor the most important thing

- they help to structure a community but are not the main focus.

what are the seven dimensions of religion

1) Experiential

2) Mythic

3) Social

4) Materiel

5) Ritual

6) Doctrinal

7) Ethical

what is the impact of whether religious communities are entirely dependent on religious experiences

depends entirely:

- without the initial experience by the prophet or key figure the religion wouldn't exist

- religious experiences are repeatedly reported in scriptures as the way the divine communicates with us

- smarts seven dimensions show experience is intrinsic to religion and faith

- they are what helps a person to withstand challenges from secularism atheism

not at all dependent:

- the initial experience is most likely so wrapped up the myth that they are completely irrelevant today (Bultmann)

- few religious believers claim to have direct experiences of the divine

- John Timber warned against experience tourism. Faith is more than charismatic hysteria

- Such experiences just add fuel to the challenges that elegies people must face

partially dependent:

- the event is the stimulus, but the faith lives and evolves beyond that one event

- scripture focuses on such events, but they are rare now and not usually sought out

- experiences includes the mundane living of faith not just the static vision

- they give faith its character as distinct from the secular but they are not required by everyone

what impact does the adequacy of different definitions of miracles have

some are better than others:

- Aquinas' definition is broad enough to include a range of ways God could affect the world

- Hume's definition is clear and simple, not allowing for any vague uncertainty

- Holland's definition accounts for people's perception of God working within the universe

- Swinburne's definition allows for the character of God as purposeful

none are adequate:

- every definition means that someone's claim of a miracle is not included

- Hume is too rigid in his definition not allowing for the character of God

- If a definition is too broad it loses the unique character of a miracle

- if an event breaks natures laws but isn't caused by God, it isn't a miracle, what is it?

all have some value:

- all these definitions have the breaking of natural laws in the criteria

- all acknowledge the part that understanding the divine needs to play in the event

- the diversity of definition is valuable to help identify philosophical problems

- they ensure that not just any event can be claimed miraculous

what is the impact of how far different definitions of miracles can be considered contradictory

completely contradictory:

- Hume's definition of miracles do not allow for Hollands coincidences

- Aquinas claims God performs acts that nature cannot but refuse to see the laws broken

-Swinburne's definition sounds like Humes but has a different understanding of natural laws

- Aquinas does not accept Swinburne and Hume for allowing natural laws to be broken

Slightly contradictory:

-Holland's coincidences were significantly extraordinary that they are highly unlikely

- Aquinas' definitions are consistent with God's nature but not with natural law

- their definitions of natural laws are slightly different but both acknowledge probability

-Hume's definition is unyielding. If an event can happen then it is not a miracle

no contradictions:

- All the definitions recognise that the event would have to be unexpected

- all the definitions understand the importance of the believer witnessing the divine

- all the definitions see the event as being one that points beyond itself

- they are only superficial contradictions. They all accept a miracle is an unusual event

what is the impact of the effectiveness of the challenges to belief in miracles

challenge the belief is effective:

- Hume raised so many challenges that cumulatively they are overwhelming

- Hume's challenge of the logical impossibility of miracles is consistent with his definition

- Hume accounts for human motive, making it impossible for anyone to ever be trusted

- Hume shows how our scientific knowledge has grown beyond claims of miracle

challenge is ineffective:

- it makes no deference how many challenges Hume offers if they are fallacious

-Hume did not understand laws of nature, seeing them as universal not statistical

- Hume's attacks are ad hominem and unfairly biased against religious believers

-scientific knowledge has failed to account for the 70 examples at Lourdes

challenge is partially effective:

-Hume has no was of refuting a personal experience or miracle

- Hume's definition of miracles does not make them impossible but very unlikely

- we do have a reason to doubt a claim of miracle and should investigate before accepting it

- science does give a better explanation than miracles until and actual miracle occurs

what impact does the extent to which Swinburne's response to Hume can be accepting

valid:

- the principle of credulity is essential to avoid doubting every experience we have

- the principle of testimony is logically necessary to maintain human relationships

- the four types of evidence mean we can draw on several valid sources

- he shows Hume's standards for witnesses as unreasonably high

not valid:

- there is an excellent reason to doubt evidence of a miracle: it is a claim of a miracle

- there is good reason to doubt the integrity of a person claiming a miracle, they are claiming a miracle

- peoples claims are not a superior type of evidence to be able to demonstrate natural laws

- if Hume's standards make it impossible to claim a miracle, maybe they are impossible

some validity:

- The principle of credulity requires consistency and avoids bias in assessing events

- The principle of testimony requires that we avoid biased treatment of religious people

- Swinburne shows that there is some validity to the personal experiences some people have.

- a set of logical criteria should stipulate the criteria for a valid claim of a miracle