TREATMENT OF MIRACLES – DAVID HUME
AN ENQUIRY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING
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 …showed first 85 words of 1722 total…
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…showed last 85 words of 1722 total…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 supernatural cause it becomes exempt from natural laws, therefore it cannot violate them. If this argument is correct, it would seem that Hume’s premise “a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature” becomes invalid, or at least loses some integrity, which would make his entire argument in opposition to miracles a bit weaker.
