Essay on An Analysis of Humes Dialogues Concerning...

An Analysis of Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion ABSTRACT: Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) may be read in the way Cleanthes (and Philo as well) reads Nature, as analogous to human artifice and contrivance. The Dialogues and Nature then are both texts, with an intelligent author or Author, and analogies may be started from these five facts of Humes text: the independence of Humes characters; the non-straightforwardness of the characters discourse; the way the characters interact and live; the entanglements of Pamphilus as an internal author; and the ways in which a reader is also involved in making a dialogue. These and other analogies should reflect upon the Author of Nature as they do upon Humes†¦show more content†¦Again, Philo states numerous objections, and ends up proclaiming a sceptical triumph concerning the first version (10.36) and judging an indifferent Deity more probable than a benevolent finite one concerning the second version (11.15). Because it is so prominent, everyone notices that a central concern of Humes Dialogues is empirical natural theology—how one can discern from Nature, using empirical facts and experimental forms of inference available to anyone, the existence and nature of an Author of Nature. But few connect this concern to the simple fact that the Dialogues is itself authored. It is a text with an author, David Hume. At the very least, then, on Cleanthess approach, (3) there should be some resemblances between the world and this text, insofar as they both imply an intelligent author; at the most, this analogy of authorship might prove even more fruitful for theological understanding than the mechanical and biological analogies mentioned by the characters in Humes text. By this, I do not mean that we can prove GodsShow MoreRelatedTeleological Argument for the Existence of God Essay2079 Words   |  9 Pagesput forward by William Paley in 1802, in his Natural Theology. Paley offers an argume nt from design that purports to show a clear and distinct reason why one should hold a belief in God, due to the inherent features of the world. It is attempted in this paper to firstly: show that the argument should be rejected on the grounds of lacking a rationally flowing set of premises and conclusions; and secondly: that the criticisms made by David Hume concerning the argument hold more weight than is generallyRead MoreLiterary Analysis on the Book of Job3072 Words   |  13 Pagesthe book. He is depicted as â€Å"perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil† (Job 1:1). It would seem unlikely that Job would ever find himself on the negative side of God, but this seems to be exactly what has happened. In the dialogue between God and Satan (Job 1:7-12), a contest is put forth to test Job’s devotion to God. Satan argues that Job will turn from God if all of his wealth is taken from him. God’s role throughout the narrative is one of a n overseer or mediator. GodRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pagesethics. Meta-ethics concerns the nature of ethical thought, comparison of various ethical systems, whether there are absolute ethical truths, and how such truths could be known. Ethics is also associated with the idea of morality. Platos early dialogues include a search for definitions of virtue. †¢ Political philosophy is the study of government and the relationship of individuals and communities to the state. It includes questions about justice, the good, law, property, and the rights and obligations