Swinburne, R.G., God, Regularity and David Hume

Introduction

  • Objective: Analyzing Hume's attack on the argument from design.

  • Argument from design: Infers a powerful rational agent from the order or regularity in the universe.

  • Distinction: Non-embodied agents (like ghosts) vs. embodied agents (material bodies).

Formal Validity of the Argument

  • Hume's challenges are mostly against weak forms of the argument.

  • The argument maintains validity without formal fallacies.

  • It employs analogy: Order in the world (A) suggests a designer (B).

Types of Regularity

Co-presence (Spatial Order)

  • Patterns observable at a single moment (e.g. city layouts).

Succession (Temporal Order)

  • Behaviors governed by natural laws (e.g. gravitational law).

Strengths and Weaknesses of Argument Types

  • Striking co-presence examples exist, but they can be countered with examples of disorder.

  • Regularities of co-presence risk normal scientific explanations undermining their design implication.

  • Regularities of succession are more robust; they can't be fully explained away by other means.

Historical Context and Argument Approaches

  • Eighteenth-century thinkers observed co-presence, often ignoring succession regularities.

  • Aquinas' focus on guidedness in nature is stronger for argumentation.

Justification for Causation

  • Rationale for positing a god: Laws of nature need an explanation beyond normal scientific explanations.

  • Proper hypothesis: God's existence required for the operation of natural laws.

Hume’s Critique Points

Inference Limitations

  • Cannot attribute qualities beyond what is necessary to explain an effect.

  • Fault in Hume's principle: It would nullify scientific advancement.

Evidence Requirements

  • Unique observations don't preclude inferences to unseen causes.

  • Cosmological conclusions can still be drawn about the singular universe.

Mind as Cause

  • Hume argues a mental existence needs an equal account; but causality can be inferred from effects.

Anthropomorphic Limitations

  • Hume suggests we might err in attributing human characteristics to God.

  • Analogical arguments don't demand identical attributes for the analogy to hold.

Multiple Deities Argument

  • If multiple gods existed, we'd expect diverse effects, negating the argument for a singular, ordered universe.

Chance as an Explanation

  • Hume posits chance could explain order; however, plausibility decreases with observed consistency in order.

Conclusion

  • Hume's critiques largely do not hold against a carefully structured argument from design.

  • The core argument retains some force despite acknowledged weaknesses in analogy strength.