Hume’s Philosophy of Miracles
Definition of Miracles:
“A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity”
– Hume believed laws of nature were fixed and therefore a transgression from one would be miraculous
Hume’s Main Claim: Probability
“When anyone tells me that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately consider myself whether it may be more probable that this person should either deceive or be deceived or that the fact, which he relates, should really have happened. I weigh the one miracle against the other; and according to the superiority which I discover, I pronounce my decision, and always reject the greater miracle. If the falsity of his testimony would be more miraculous than the event he relates then, and not till then, can he command my belief or opinion.”
– In his main claim, Hume outlines 3 possibilities when being presented with an account of a miracle (in this case, resurrection);
1) The man is lying
2) The man has been lied to
3) The man actually witnessed a resurrection
– He then weighs up the two miracles in order to reject the greater one;
1) Someone was brought back from the dead
2) Some form of deception took place
– Hume then rejects the greater miracle; in this case resurrection, as it is far more probable that someone is lying than that resurrection occurred
– If to lie about it seems more miraculous, then the event must have happened
– However, in what situations is it more likely that the “miracle” occurred than someone lied about it? If an event is mundane enough that to lie about it seems miraculous – can it even be considered a miracle by definition?
Hume’s Subsidiary Claims:
- People with sense, education and integrity do not believe in miracles
- Unusual things happen, people find these exciting and want to attribute them to something
- Ignorant barbarous people believe in miracles
- All religions claim miracles (and rely on them for their validity) and therefore these cancel each other out
Criticisms of Hume
Hume makes the jump from improbability to irrationality
- We can all think of highly unlikely events which do happen
- On balance of probability, Hume may even reject these
- Hume makes the jump from an inductive argument to a deductive conclusion
- Although he claims miracles definitively cannot happen – he does not deductively prove this, just inductively leads us to the probable conclusion that they do not happen
There is an element of Myth in the Bible
- Miraculous events can still hold significant meaning
- Especially at a personal, subjective level
- Even if such events actually happening does not correspond with our world view, they can still hold significance
- Anti real view
Hume’s 4th Subsidiary Claim is weak
- It doesn’t follow that if different belief systems make different claims, they must all be wrong
- It is possible one could be true and the others false
Laws of Nature are Descriptive, not Prescriptive
- Laws of nature come from what we observe empirically in the world around us
- They evolve and change with new understanding – they do not dictate what occurs
- Any transgression is simply an unusual event that adds to our understanding of them
Hume only considers Second Hand accounts
- What about physical evidence?
- If Hume himself saw a miracle, does his main claim still stand?
– Yes, Hume would state that the same principles apply
– Either he has been visually deceived/his senses are lying to him, or the miracle has occurred
– He would then follow through and reject which is the greater miracle
A Nebraska church exploded one evening just five minutes after choir practise had been scheduled to begin, however not one of the fifteen members of the choir were injured because every one of them were late to practise.
Philosophy and Ethics 