Open AccessHume, Causation and Two Arguments Concerning God
Author(s) -
Jason Megill
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
european journal for philosophy of religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.25
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 1689-8311
DOI - 10.24204/ejpr.v6i2.184
Subject(s) - causation , epistemology , argument (complex analysis) , philosophy , theism , causality (physics) , chemistry , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
In Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Hume (1779/1993) appeals to his account of causation (among other things) to undermine certain arguments for the existence of God. If ‘anything can cause anything’, as Hume claims, then the Principle of Causal Adequacy is false; and if the Principle of Causal Adequacy is false, then any argument for God’s existence that relies on that principle fails. Of course, Hume’s critique has been influential. But Hume’s account of causation undermines the argument from evil at least as much as it undermines arguments for theism, or so I argue. I then suggest that Hume’s account of causation can be used to formulate an alternative argument against classical theism.