Assignment #5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

On Miracles by David Hume - Essay ExampleHence Hume dismisses outright all kind of revelatory recounting of miracles. Take say, the example of the resurrection of Christ three days after his death. Though it is an important miracle in Christian theology, it fails the rigorous standards of quackery that Hume mandates. We only have references to the event in the scriptures, the writing of which happened much later than the event sometimes centuries later. On top of this, those who witnessed Christs resurrection were invariably the faithful, who wished that it were so. A major thrust of Humes thesis is that the burden of proof lies heavily upon those claiming miracles. Hume defines a miracle as that event which has defined laws of nature. As a consequence witnesses of miracles atomic number 18 required to bring high credibility to their evidence. But this is easier said than done, as in that location are inherent mitigating factors. Firstly, since an overwhelming majority of people are religiously inclined and have accepted miracles as acts of God, their psyche would lack the requisite skepticism and objectivity in evaluating a claimed miracle. Individuals do not merely observe events through their senses but through the lens of their cognitive faculties. Our cognitive faculties are trained and cultivated through our education and exposure to various life experiences. Since there is a great deal of variability among humans in this regard, no two individuals would perceive an event in the same way. Hume also articulates the argument from miracles.