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What does Hume mean by natural religion summarize the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion?
In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Hume explores whether religious belief can be rational. Because Hume is an empiricist (i.e. someone who thinks that all knowledge comes through experience), he thinks that a belief is rational only if it is sufficiently supported by experiential evidence.
Who are the three main characters of dialogue concerning natural religion?
Through dialogue, three fictional characters named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God’s existence. While all three agree that a god exists, they differ sharply in opinion on god’s nature or attributes and how, or if, mankind can come to knowledge of a diety.
What does cleanthes say about Demea’s argument?
Cleanthes says the only thing that Demea’s argument is good for is to establish the possibility that apparent evil and “God’s” benevolence are reconcilable, but this argument can never be supported by facts because of the nature of the argument.
What is considered natural religion?
: a religion validated on the basis of human reason and experience apart from miraculous or supernatural revelation specifically : a religion that is universally discernible by all men through the use of human reason apart from any special revelation — compare revealed religion.
What can meaningful ideas be traced back to according to the empirical criterion of meaning?
The empirical criterion of meaning holds that a meaningful idea can be traced to sense experience (impressions). Beliefs that cannot be reduced to sense experience are technically not “ideas” at all: They are meaningless utterances. We can only know our own perceptions, ideas, and experiences.
What does it mean to say that a religious or mystical experience is veridical?
are religious experiences veridical. when people say they have had direct religious experience they mean that they have experienced God or divine in some way; they are not saying it seemed like god but was something else.
What is natural theology philosophy?
Natural theology is generally characterized as the attempt to establish religious truths by rational argument and without reliance upon alleged revelations. It has focused traditionally on the topics of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul.
Which religion is the third largest religion in the world?
Adherents in 2020
Religion | Adherents | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Christianity | 2.382 billion | 31.11% |
Islam | 1.907 billion | 24.9% |
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist | 1.193 billion | 15.58% |
Hinduism | 1.161 billion | 15.16% |
What is an example for natural religion?
Most authors consider natural religion as not only the foundation of monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam but also distinct from them. According to some authors, aspects of natural religion are found universally among all peoples, often in such forms of shamanism and animism.
Why is the empirical criterion of meaning important for humean Analyses?
The empirical criterion of meaning holds that a meaningful idea can be traced to sense experience (impressions). We can only know our own perceptions, ideas, and experiences. Hume suggests that imagination account can explain our belief in an external world.
Did Hume alter Locke’s copy theory of ideas?
David Hume defined ideas as “forceful impressions.” Hume altered Locke’s copy theory of ideas.
What does Hume say in the dialogues concerning natural religion?
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Summary. In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Hume explores whether religious belief can be rational. Because Hume is an empiricist (i.e. someone who thinks that all knowledge comes through experience), he thinks that a belief is rational only if it is sufficiently supported by experiential evidence.
How does natural religion relate to natural religion?
According to the argument from design we can use the evidence of the natural world to arrive at knowledge about the nature of God in the following way: We see that the universe is like a machine insofar as it is perfectly and intricately ordered so that every part, from smallest to largest, fits harmoniously with every other part.
Who is the philosophical skeptic in natural religion?
Philo, the philosophical skeptic, agrees with Demea that God is incomprehensible and provides the most convincing arguments for this position. Cleanthes argues the position of empirical theism—the position that we can come to know about God by reasoning from the evidence afforded us by nature—against these two opponents.
What are the arguments for empirical theism in natural religion?
Cleanthes argues the position of empirical theism—the position that we can come to know about God by reasoning from the evidence afforded us by nature—against these two opponents. Cleanthes bases his belief in empirical theism on the argument from design.