David Hume And Miracles

Hume and Miracles It is commonly known and accepted that miracles are traditionally used in order to validate religious experiences and occurrences that are unable to be explained through the use of reason or logic. David Hume strongly believes that there are two substantial factors when assessing an individual’s testimony regarding the claim of a miracle. The first and most important is the reliability of the witness, and the second is the probability of the incident that is claimed to be a miracle. Hume makes the argument that miracles are simply invalid and an individual personal experience is the key factor in achieving true knowledge. In his writings, David Hume makes the argument that miracles are a perpetually flawed concept because

Hume points out human beings must base their acceptance of truth solely on their past experiences. Those things closest to past experiences are considered more probable than those least like our past experience, therefore miracles should never be(Maranathea). Hume does note that the mind does not always align with this rule, because people are capable of, and often times act unreasonably and illogically. Instead of affirming what has been experienced, the human mind tends to want to believe what is miraculous. Hume believes humans tens to accept imaginary stories simply because they far-fetched and notably unbelievable. Even individuals that do not allow their beliefs to become too outlandish are susceptible to the whimsical nature of the belief of miracles because they are out of the

Every individual testimony, in as much as it opposes the claims of the other testimonies, brings discredit on human testimony as a whole and on the particular stories themselves. Hume states, “Every miracle, therefore, pretended to have been wrought in any of these religions…as its direct scope is to establish the particular system to which it is attributed; so has it the same force…to overthrow every other system” (129). “If a miracle is provided, then the wise,” Hume states, “have an obligation to consider the evidences of one miracle against another” (126). Having done all of this, a well-educated individual will realize that no new information can be learned from the miracles (Maranathea). The testimony of each trustworthy individual will destroy the credibility of every other trust worthy individual