Hume, Holism, and Miracles

Hume, Holism, and Miracles
Author: David Johnson
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2018-09-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1501731300

David Johnson seeks to overthrow one of the widely accepted tenets of Anglo-American philosophy—that of the success of the Humean case against the rational credibility of reports of miracles. In a manner unattempted in any other single work, he meticulously examines all the main variants of Humean reasoning on the topic of miracles: Hume's own argument and its reconstructions by John Stuart Mill, J. L. Mackie, Antony Flew, Jordan Howard Sobel, and others.Hume's view, set forth in his essay "Of Miracles," has been widely thought to be correct. Johnson reviews Hume's thesis with clarity and elegance and considers the arguments of some of the most prominent defenders of Hume's case against miracles. According to Johnson, the Humean argument on this topic is entirely without merit, its purported cogency being simply a philosophical myth.

A Defense of Hume on Miracles

A Defense of Hume on Miracles
Author: Robert J. Fogelin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2010-03-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1400825776

Since its publication in the mid-eighteenth century, Hume's discussion of miracles has been the target of severe and often ill-tempered attacks. In this book, one of our leading historians of philosophy offers a systematic response to these attacks. Arguing that these criticisms have--from the very start--rested on misreadings, Robert Fogelin begins by providing a narrative of the way Hume's argument actually unfolds. What Hume's critics (and even some of his defenders) have failed to see is that Hume's primary argument depends on fixing the appropriate standards of evaluating testimony presented on behalf of a miracle. Given the definition of a miracle, Hume quite reasonably argues that the standards for evaluating such testimony must be extremely high. Hume then argues that, as a matter of fact, no testimony on behalf of a religious miracle has even come close to meeting the appropriate standards for acceptance. Fogelin illustrates that Hume's critics have consistently misunderstood the structure of this argument--and have saddled Hume with perfectly awful arguments not found in the text. He responds first to some early critics of Hume's argument and then to two recent critics, David Johnson and John Earman. Fogelin's goal, however, is not to "bash the bashers," but rather to show that Hume's treatment of miracles has a coherence, depth, and power that makes it still the best work on the subject.

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology
Author: William James Abraham
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 657
Release: 2017
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 019966224X

This work features forty-one original essays which reflect a broad range of perspectives and methodological assumptions. It focuses on standard epistemic concepts that are usually thought of as questions about norms and sources of theology (including reasoning, experience, tradition, scripture, and revelation). Furthermore it explores general epistemic concepts that can be related to theology (i.e. wisdom, understanding, virtue, evidence, testimony, scepticism, and disagreement). Each chapter provides an analysis of the crucial issues and debates while identifying and articulating the relevant epistemic considerations. This work will stimulate future research.

Hume's Problem

Hume's Problem
Author: Colin Howson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2000
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198250371

This volume offers a solution to one of the central, unsolved problems of Western philosophy, that of induction. It explores the implications of Hume's argument that successful prediction tells us nothing about the truth of the predicting theory.

God

God
Author: Anselm Ramelow
Publisher:
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2014
Genre: God
ISBN: 9783884051092

Evidence and Faith

Evidence and Faith
Author: Charles Taliaferro
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2005-02-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521790277

A narrative history of philosophical reflection on religion from the seventeenth century to the present.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion
Author: William Wainwright
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2004-12-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198031580

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion contains newly commissioned chapters by 21 prominent experts who cover the field in a comprehensive but accessible manner. Each chapter is expository, critical, and representative of a distinctive viewpoint.

The Ego Tunnel

The Ego Tunnel
Author: Thomas Metzinger
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
Total Pages: 442
Release: 2010-05-21
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1458759164

We're used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing as a self exists. The conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain - an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is ''a virtual self in a virtual reality.'' But if the self is not ''real,'' why and how did it evolve? How does the brain construct it? Do we still have souls, free will, personal autonomy, or moral accountability? In a time when the science of cognition is becoming as controversial as evolution, The Ego Tunnel provides a stunningly original take on the mystery of the mind.