Gaskin has argued that humean natural belief has to meet four criteria. Beginning with a treatise of human nature 173940, hume strove to create a naturalistic. Dialogues and natural history of religion, edited by j. Deities not considered as creators or formers of the worl 5.
Gaskin, 9780333235874, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Fogelin, humes scepticism in the treatise of human nature. References to david humes dialogues concerning natural religion are given first to the kemp smith edition indianapolis, 1947, and second to the tweyman edition above, n. The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur in humes writings, but items in the history of ideas.
David hume on the cosmological argument and the argument. His position is further compared with contemporary expressions of new atheism. A s we saw last week, in of miracles, david hume defined a miracle, rightly in my view, as a transgression of a law of nature by a particular. Introduction the most perfect philosophy of the natural kind only staves off our ignorance a little longer. That religion has no legitimate consequences for the practicalmoral affairs of man is the controlling consideration in hume s philosophy of religion, and it is one of the controlling considerations in the development of his moral theory. The site thus covers the main philosophical traditions, from the presocratic to the contemporary philosophers, while trying to bring a philosophical reading to the cultural field in general, such as cinema, literature, politics or music. Hume on the relation of religion to morality jstor. Gaskin, god, hume and natural belief, philosophy 49 1984.
Despite hume s protestations, a general consensus exists today that hume s most important arguments and philosophically distinctive doctrines are found in the original form they take in the treatise. Treatise of human nature 1740 essays concerning human understanding 1748 natural history of religion 1757 in summary, david hume criticized the dogmatic rationalism of the seventeenth century and brought the principle of causality in the subjective opinion. Interpretations of hume s philosophy of religion are often made against the background of more general interpretations of his philosophical intentions. David hume, a british and empiricist philosopher, wrote essentially the following works. Routledge philosophy guidebook to hume on religion david o. The natural history of religion investigates the origins of belief, and follows its development from polytheism to dogmatic. The natural history of religion table of contents introduction 1. Routledge philosophy guidebook to hume on religion david. Natural religion, philosophical dialogue, and skepticism a variety of religious and moral interests motivated the preoccupation with natural religion during humes time.
Hume was a critical thinker concerning religion, so everyone interested in this subject will profit from gaskins insightful commentary. In humes thinking, we observe these successive events, but we cannot find the necessary link between them. The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur in hume s writings, but items in the history of ideas. The scope of humes inexplicable mystery is similar to the second edition of j. Kant famously argues that the cosmological argument depends on the ontological argument this isnt really main line, but if you want to see some discussion of kants claim, there is a short article by. The scotchman, david hume1 17111776, an acute thinker and classical historian of england,2 opposes to each of these schools. Gaskin macmillan london wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be.
Hume s philosophy of religion brings together for the first time the whole range of hume s immensely important critique of religion. Since that was the first whole book to be devoted to this enquiry, and since it seems still to. True religion in humes dialogues concerning natural religion. Jan 26, 2001 volume 27, number 2, november 2001, pp. Bailey and obriens nondogmatic atheist reading provides a strong and powerful challenge to views of this kind hcr, p. An important exponent of the first group of interpreters is j. David hume on the cosmological argument and the argument from. The absence of god and its contextual significance for. The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of ph. Dialogues concerning natural religion and assesses humes life and the background to the work. But a com plete treatise on the philosophy of religi would be long and complicated, and space is limited in an introduction. Against some interpreters, it is argued that, although elusive, his attenuated deism gaskin is not wholly dismissive of all forms of religious thought and practice. Gaskin s humes philosophy of religion, which defends an attenuated deism reading of hume 19781988.
Whether the fact that hume grants that it is possible to doubt our belief in the. Pdf hume on natural belief and original principles researchgate. The context, aims, and structure of humes first enquiry, p. The philosophy of david hume alfred weber there are no bodies, the idealists dogmatically declared. Over the past forty years the most influential study of humes philosophy of religion has been j. Dialogues argumentative structure, its relation to humes other writings, and its broader historical context. Edinburgh university press, 1984 defends a similar view. Humes philosophy of religion brings together for the first time the whole range of humes immensely important critique of religion.
Gaskin macmillan london wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be required. Humes philosophy of religion library of philosophy. David hume is one of the most provocative philosophers to have written in english. Hume on religion introduces his major work on the subject, dialogues concerning natural religion and assesses hume s life and the background to the work. Humes philosophy of religion library of philosophy and. The natural history of religion and dialogues concerning natural religion by david hume edited by a. Of all this material we have, anywhere in the originally anonymous and later emphatically disowned treatise of human nature, humes first book, nothing more than at most hints. Collections of essays and conference papers are always liable to two defects. Mar, 2018 over the past forty years the most influential study of humes philosophy of religion has been j. The natural history of religion investigates the origins of belief, and follows its development from polytheism to dogmatic monotheism. All this illustrates how humes various statements on religion should not be naively taken at face value.
Hume was just 23 years old when he started this work and it is now regarded as one of the most important in the history of western philosophy. Understandably, given the interpretive challenges posed by the dialogue form, the focus of david humes interest in religion in the dialogues concerning natural religion can be difficult to pinpoint. The cambridge companion to hume, second edition edited by david fate. Just as discussion of hume on induction isnt constrained by the fact that he never used the word induction, so discussion of humes total rejection of the a priori arguments for gods existence gaskin, humes philosophy of religion, p. Dialogues concerning natural religion early modern texts. It is most easily available in the oxford worlds classics edition by j. Considerations of other vital aspects of his philosophy are, such as being a man, are often. This course will introduce some central aspects of the thought of david hume, the. References to david hume s dialogues concerning natural religion are given first to the kemp smith edition indianapolis, 1947, and second to the tweyman edition above, n. Humes philosophy of religion brings together for the first time the whole range. Routledge philosophy guidebook to hume on religion. Humes scepticism and his ethical depreciation of religion. Another discussion of the relation of natural beliefs to religious ones is terence penelhums natural belief and religious belief in humes philosophy, the. The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur in humes writings, but items in the history of ideas, questions of interpretation and biographical details are introduced when they.
Gaskin describes humes settled position as an attenuated deism although this might be further qualified by describing it as a tentative attenuated deism gaskin 1978. The absence of god and its contextual significance for hume. The context, aims, and structure of humes first enquiry. I shall be dealing with not only sections x and xi but also part ii of section viii and part iii of section xii. From this perspective, it is not unusual to view hume s views on religion in terms of the skepticism and naturalism that features prominently in his treatise of human nature 173940, his first. David hume on religionfinal connecting repositories. Feb 16, 2009 a s we saw last week, in of miracles, david hume defined a miracle, rightly in my view, as a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the deity, or the interposition of some. Gaskin, 9780333393468, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
Considerations of other vital aspects of his philosophy are, such as being a man, are often overlooked. Humes philosophy of belief a work especially about the. As yandell sees their difference, gaskin s book portrays. Humes science of man, and of the most representative examples of principles of natural philosophy considered by hume. Together, these works constitute the most formidable attack upon religious belief ever mounted by a philosopher. Mackie makes reference to humes natural history of religion 1757, which is well worth reading as a pioneering attempt to provide such a naturalistic explanation.
The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur. Principal writings on religion including dialogues concerning natural religion and, the natural history of religion. This is because, i claim, whether or not these arguments do in practice live up to what ive argued in the lecture is their. Humes discussion, see john gaskin, humes philosophy of religion, chapter 4. Humes philosophy of religion volume 20 antony flew. Recent work on hume a survey of hume literature 19691979. On david hume s philosophy of suicide semantic scholar. Kant, immanuel, critique of pure reason, a592 to 630. Gaskin s fine study, humes philosophy of religion humanities press, 1988, covering humes natural history of religion, the dialogues, his popular essays on religious topics, and the essay on miracles. Collections of essays and conference papers are always liable to two. In any case, one has to start somewhere what follows is a very heavily revised version of a text published by oxford university press in 1982. Dialogues concerning natural religion david hume pamphilus to hermippus letter from pamphilus to hermippus it has been remarked that though the ancient philosophers mostly taught through dialogues, the dialogue form hasnt been much used in recent times, and has seldom succeeded when people have tried it. In humes own lifetime his philosophy was widely viewed by scottish, english and continental critics in both scotland and england as being atheistic in character and generally hostile to religion, not only on account of late writings like the dialogues, but also on account of humes early writings, including the treatise.
The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur in humes writings, but items in the history of ideas, questions of interpretation. His dialogues ask if a belief in god can be inferred from what is known of the universe, or whether such a belief is even consistent with such knowledge. Another discussion of the relation of natural beliefs to religious ones is terence penelhum s natural belief and religious belief in hume s philosophy, the philosophical quarterly 33, no. Hume on religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Humes philosophy of religion royal institute of philosophy. One of humes bestknown teachings was that cause and ef fect cannot be proven to be true, in spite of the longheld belief on the part of most men that certain effects follow naturally from certain causes. Scottish enlightenment philosopher david hume 1711 1779 is famously known through his skeptical approach on epistemology, ethics, and religion. Attenuated deism and humes instinctual belief society and politics. Interpretations of humes philosophy of religion are often made against. Dialogues and natural history of religion oxford worlds. Humes willingness to oppose arguments supporting a position in which he believes means that, despite mounting severe criticisms, he can consistently support a designer as the optimum hypothesis for order in the world. Humes thoroughgoing religious scepticism is set within the context of the scottish enlightenment. Humes willingness to oppose arguments supporting a position in which he believes means that, despite mounting severe criticisms, he can consistently support a designer as the optimum hypothesis. In due course, hume tries to establish that religious.
This is perhaps the best work on humes philosophy of religion to date on account of both its scope and careful analysis. From this perspective, it is not unusual to view humes views on religion in terms of the skepticism and naturalism that features prominently in his treatise of human nature 173940, his first. Humes dialogues concerning natural religion 1 closes with an endorsement of the very position which it has consistently attacked, namely belief in an orderer. It is evident that suicide cases remain prevalent in society today, due to mans misery and experience of anxiety and frustration. Interpretations of humes philosophy of religion are often made against the background of more general interpretations of his philosophical intentions. Hume s willingness to oppose arguments supporting a position in which he believes means that, despite mounting severe criticisms, he can consistently support a designer as the optimum hypothesis for order in the world. Gaskin, humes philosophy of religion, chapter 8 cautionary note first, youll have noticed that this week ive left my conclusions hypothetical. The ideas and text of the work are also considered along with humes continuing importance to philosophy today. The major concern is with a clear discussion and presentation of philosophical issues wherever they occur in hume s writings, but items in the history of ideas, questions of interpretation and biographical details are introduced when they contribute to an. That religion has no legitimate consequences for the practicalmoral affairs of man is the controlling consideration in humes philosophy of religion, and it is one of the controlling considerations in the development of his moral theory. Hume s dialogues concerning natural religion 1 closes with an endorsement of the very position which it has consistently attacked, namely belief in an orderer. The ideas and text of the work are also considered along with hume s continuing importance to philosophy today.
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