Hume's Miracles

Hume’s strong empirical views can be seen in many area of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding but I think the most clearly perceived empirical argument is that of his stance on miracles. Through this paper I hope to give a brief summary of Hume’s take on empiricism and then will be able to provide an argument for how Hume had no other choice but to have the beliefs he did on miracles. Hume’…

…a person’s previous experience. Keep in mind, however, that if a person is an empiricist, then their beliefs of the world are based on experience. To believe in a miracle is to discount prior experiences. If one discounts prior experience, they are not an empiricist. Thus, if you are an empiricist, you must view miracles as improbable (as noted by Hume). If you do not, then you are not an empiricist to begin with.