Assess Hume's Contribution To The Philosophy Of Religion - Book Report/Review Example

Assess Hume's Contribution To The Philosophy Of Religion Introduction (Born in conservative times, David Hume offered original thinking-an influential philosopher, he criticized philosophy of religion- the standard proofs of God's existence- God's nature-divinity-he attempts to unmask the doctrines and dogmas of religious belief-his life and works-the treatise-the enquiries-a brave attempt in his times) Philosophy of religion (The most fascinating area of philosophy that questions about the existence of God-the standard arguments whether there is a God through the point of miracles-Hume's point of view on miracles-Pascal's wager versus Hume's theory that religious belief depends on psychological and sociological factors, Ontological argument vs. Hume's design argument, moral argument versus Humes sentiment based ethical theory-Hume's arguments that virtues and vice are just good or painful reactions of the mind) Assessment of the Treatise and the Enquiries (What the Treatise states about the state of philosophy-the differing viewpoints in the Enquiries-his disavowal of the treatise-the reasons-which point of view to be taken) Assessment of Humean contribution to the philosophy of religion Do Hume's works show a negativism in philosophy (high extent of skepticism in his writings- in his book 'On miracles' critics feel that he acts to be on philosophically high ground- but when the miracles are examined the case is different-Hume's work is interesting only because of its new point of view, sarcasm and irony- while previous critics thought so, today much is common between cognitive sciences and his views-not completely negative-his philosophy of religion or irreligion is central to his entire work) A promotion of atheism (many theologians felt Hume as a threat to religion- he discussed the origin of theism- first polytheists because people feared uncontrollable natural phenomena-then monotheism as people's understanding grew- Hume's states that monotheism is dogmatic and intolerant- states that the idea of God is copied from our natural attributes which are augmented to infinity- states that he does not believe in the resurrection of Christ as he has not seen it himself- causes much discord with Christians- shows that men have preference for the unreasonable and untheoretical- a fact that can be proven in today's times also- undermined the two pillars of traditional Christian belief of natural and revealed religion-His work 'Dialogues concerning natural religion' are full of irony-skeptical arguments are powerful-making people feel that it is his final point of view-however these can be considered as reductions of theories for a clearer picture-point out false metaphysics and promote true metaphysics) An empirical form of thinking (known as the last of the great triumvirate of "British empiricists"- Hume puts it: "Man is a reasonable being, and, as such, receives from science his proper food and nourishment." - scientific approach to philosophy-identification with the Copy Principle-He puts hypotheses and systems to moral points-rejects a range of philosophical views-gives his own theories-takes in both positivism and negativism showing the trend to experiment-let all the shades of a color example- statements of defenders that Hume has not given a right answer why-further his work inspired Charles Darwin and others who took different directions of thinking from here.) An alchemist (derives the right mix of human beings as sentimentalists, intellectuals, rationalists-a casual and descriptive approach-stresses the importance of tracing roots of current concerns for better understanding-the Natural History of religion talks about the origins of history and beliefs- as a critic in conservative times on a topic as sensitive as religion Humes used his rhetoric well to convey the messages-also left it to his readers to understand his most controversial conclusions.) A connection of ideas (many call him a thorough going exponent of philosophical naturalism-the concept of eidetic atomism-took a mild view of human nature-showcased the connection between ideas mainly through his three principles of connection-the principle of causation is one of them-controversial-renders reasoning but gives no link between past and future-reasoning is neither demonstrative nor probable-skepticism is well founded- many feel that the model must go) On morality and miracles (difference in the argument in Treatise and Enquiry-why it happened- which point of view must be taken-rules of justice-the need for them- argues that morality is not just about rational thinking- many feel his account on miracles is exaggerated - while he defies miracles there are many arguments against it- many argue that these were not reported by ignorant people and are credible.) A unity of purpose relevant in all times (many respondents were shocked by his essays in conservative times but today one can see the varied topics relevant even today-on economics, commerce, sociology, foreign trade- a political conservative or the first conservative philosopher- he threw light on various topics through arguments in religion- on criticism and aesthetic judgment- woven together purposefully- Hume's ideas match modern thinking and modern practices like NLP, neurosciences, Emotional Intelligence agree with David Hume) Conclusion (While response from the people was not as great as he wanted-philosophers comments on his work-Ayer, Russell- Flew-Stroud etc-people have called him a naturalist, phenomenologist, idealist, positivist, Pyrrhonian skeptic, prophet of the Wittgenstein revolution. Initially he was seen as a threat by theologians- his view points were misinterpreted- but in the light of new sciences people are understanding him better-Humes offered a balanced stance (his viewpoints are conservative, modern, liberal, contractarian, utilitarian)-skepticism-High level of maturity and skill-A thrust on impartial laws-Vision for the best society-Contribution to economic thinking-high relevance even in today's times) Bibliography http://www.tektonics.org/gk/hume01.html http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-religion/#9 http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/h/humereli.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache:_dNM8ZzrdyAJ:www.sfu.ca/philosophy/schulte/church.pdf+assess+David+Hume&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=2 http://www.nndb.com/people/810/000030720/ http://www.nlpco.com/pages/articles/nlp/MindBody.php http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A2LONX7E5LHCJEie=UTF8&display=public&page=8 Read More