Hume on Miracles
When asked the question whether it is reasonable to believe that a miracle has occurred based on the testimony of other people, David Hume will always answer no. This paper will discuss why Hume feels it is unreasonable to believe in the occurrence of a miracle based on the testimony of others. Then, I will discuss and support reasons for believing in miracles using circumstances surrounding the testimony and the context of the testimony. "A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined" (710). Hume argues that it is unreasonable to believe in the occurrence of a miracle based on the testimony of others because neither the reliability of laws of nature nor the reliability of human testimony is relations of ideas, or 100% certain. He is not claiming that a miracle could not take place because this would contradict the Matters of Fact argument. God is omnipotent and can, therefore, suspend the laws of nature. However, he is claiming that people should be skeptical about believing the testimony of others because of the poss
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1563
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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