Miracles

A Level Philosophy - Miracles.

Revision video for the philosophy topic 'miracles'.

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• Miracles
• year
• 12
• philosophy
• level
• AS
• David
• Hume
• Richard
• Swinburne
• revision

[phlewis86]

Very good video. There are lots of things think about here.

[theonlyvarese]

@philosophyteacher oops; reply above!

[theonlyvarese]

I guess that depends on what you mean by laws of nature. I'd guess someone who backed the first reading would suggest that laws are fixed and any apparent transgression of the 'laws' meant that we hadn't understood the laws correctly!

I'm guessing Hume would indeed think a man on the moon miraculous; it doesn't meet Hume's definition of a miracle though does it, given we can quite accurately explain how it happened. So there's no volition of a deity or interposition of some invisible agent!

[philosophyteacher]

@theonlyvarese are laws of nature fixed? would a man on the moon be a miracle according to Hume?

[theonlyvarese]

I love Hume: one of the most human of all philosophers; an intellect that manages to illuminate problems but also an immensely loving and humorous nature :)

[theonlyvarese]

2) Another reading: In any case of a miracle, the person examining it must judge what is more likely; that God was involved, and as such it is a miracle, or if the circumstances are misunderstood (or if it was faked). The nature of the word 'miracle' unfortunately leads to the latter being much more likely, to the extend that it would be illogical to accept the miraculous nature of the event: ie: Jesus was resurrected from the dead, or his followers stole the body...

[theonlyvarese]

OK - two things:

1) One reading of Hume's argument sees the word miracle as something which transgresses the laws of nature. As such, a miracle is impossible, as if it happens it cannot have transgressed the laws of nature (because they wouldn't be laws otherwise) and as such it cannot, ergo, be a miracle.