Miracles are upheld by subjective sense perceptions of past experiences. They are described from the standpoint of an individual's own reality, and perhaps influenced by religious beliefs. In the strict sense a miracle could be described as a violation of nature caused by a supernatural power. In the loose sense it could be described as any wonderful and surprising event that makes us feel glad and grateful. Hume is most interested in the strict sense definition of a miracle as he interprets or defines a miracle as a violation of the laws of nature, an event perceived abnormal to mankind. Hume elucidates this point when he states, "Nothing is esteemed a miracle, if it has ever happened in the common course of nature. It is no miracle that a man seemingly in good health should die on a sudden." Hume states that this death is quite unusual, however it seemed to happen naturally. He could only define it as a true miracle if this dead man were to come back to life. This would be a miraculous event because such an experience has yet to be proven possible. Hume critiques and discredits the belief in a miracle primarily for the reason that it acts adjacent

to the laws of nature. Hume defines the laws of nature to be what has been "uniformly" observed by mankind, such as the laws of identity and gravity. He holds that society is quick to label an event as a miracle, and that often events as mis-catogorized as such. He illustrates four ideas to support his argument in defining a "true" miracle. Hume's four considerations in defense of his skepticism are as follows: Lack of credible witnesses, human gullibility, miracle reports coming mainly from ancient and barbarous nations, and stories of miracles supporting varied and inconsistent religions.

An additional argument Hume presents in discrediting the belief in a miracle is testimony versus reality. Hume asserts, "It forms a strong presumption against all supernatural and miraculous events, that they are observed chiefly to abound among ignorant and barbarous ancestors; or if civilized people has ever given admission to any of them, that people will be found to have received them from these barbarous ancestors, who transmitted them with that inviolable sanction and authority, which always attend perceived opinions." Hume might proclaim that the miraculous events, which happened in past history, would not be considered a miracle in today's world, or at any other time in history. The reality most people believed at that period, as a result can be considered lies, exaggerations, or misinterpretations. Also, their misunderstanding could have been due to a lack of scientific or other knowledge. Hume also discredits some miracles based on the time period in which the miracle took place, taking into account the mindset and social status of the people at that time. Hume connotes that during considerable times in history texts accounts of many travelers. "Because we as individuals love to wonder, there is an end to common sense, and human testimony, in these circumstances, loses all pretensions to authority."

Hume's argument against miracles appears to depend heavily upon the premise that "a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature". However, when his text is more thoroughly considered it seems that he may have decided a miracle to be otherwise. Perhaps he meant to characterize a miracle, in some epistemological sense, as contrary to the ordinary course of nature (Rather than a violation of the laws of nature)? It can be argued that miracles are not violations of laws of nature, since laws of nature are not meant to describe events with supernatural causes (Only those with natural causes). When an event has appeared to have a supern

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Approximate Word count = 1716
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)