criticism of DA Flashcards
(13 cards)
who is the main critic of the DA?
David Hume
what is Hume’s book called?
dialogue concerning natural religion
important note-what is Hume criticising
Hume was criticising the DA in general, not Paley
Hume died before Paley wrote the book
what is Hume’s criticism?
even if there is order and purpose in the world it is not evidence to show the God of classical theism exists
could have been multiple lesser Gods
what things can we see that shows there is no ‘perfect designer’?
flaws in design such as evil and suffering
Hume’s quote about the world not being made by a perfect designer?
‘this world for all he knows is very faulty and imperfect’
Hume’s argument about eternity?
how can eternity have a cause
if it did have a cause there would have been no beginning so no need for a designer
Hume’s quote about eternity:
‘how can anything that exists from eternity have a cause’?
how are Hume’s criticisms divided into two categories?
argument to design
argument from design
what is the argument to design?
(4 points)
humans don’t have enough experience to conclude there is only 1 creator as humans only have experience with what they create
believes we should compare world to vegetable(free will), not vast machine
shouldn’t discuss design of universe in human terms as it transcends human knowledge
machine made by multiple hands so universe made by multiple Gods?
what is the argument from design?
(2 points)
even if world was designed it doesn’t prove God is the designer
even if the world has regularity this could be due to chance (Epicurean hypothesis)
what is the Epicurean hypothesis?
at the time of creation the universe consisted of random particles that were chaotic
over time these particles became ordered through natural forces
as the universe is eternal it means order developing was inevitable
so not a result of a divine designer
David Hume key quote:
‘a wise man proportions his beliefs to the evidence’
