Is it Rational to Believe in Miracles? A Discussion of David Hume’s Argument Against Believing in Miracles
Gavin House 1220 E 58th St., ChicagoCan one be rational and also believe in miracles? The philosophers of the Enlightenment held that it was impossible for the laws of nature to allow such ruptures: to believe in miracles was to be de-facto irrational. Voltaire said that a miracle was a "contradiction in terms," and Thomas Jefferson famously cut all the miracles out of his Gospels with a razor. David Hume presented a famous argument against the rationality of believing in miracles in his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (Chapter 10). Over dinner on Saturday evening, Dr. Jason Cather (University of Chicago) will lead a discussion on Hume’s argument. Does it...