1C challenges to inductive arguments

Question 1

who was david hume

Answer 1

Scottish empiricist philosopher, who made an extensive contribution to philosophy. He was a sceptically critiques, the cosmological and teleological argument.

Question 2

what was david humes’ book called where he criticised the cosmological and teleological argument

Answer 2

dialogues concerning natural religion

Question 3

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument stating that every effect has a cause

Answer 3

cause and effect may only be an assumption but not a reality

it is only an assumption, not a fact
when two events happen consecutively we habitually interpret some as causes and others as effects
this connection may be erroneous (incorrect)
it is insufficient to make the claim that one causes the other when using our imagination to connect two events

Question 4

give quote to back up hume’s claim that not every effect has a cause

Answer 4

‘if we believe that fire warms or water refreshes ‘tis only because it costs us too much pain to think otherwise’

link to freuds collective and obsessional neurosis

Question 5

define fallacy of composition

Answer 5

the false premise that what is true of the parts is true of the whole

Question 6

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument stating that the universe must have a cause

Answer 6

what is true of the parts need not be true of the whole

to assume that just because there are causes within the universe that the universe itself is caused is the fallacy of composition
hume argues that the universe may be infinite and infinite items do not have a cause, if we apply Ockham’s razor
out of multiple possibilities, the simplest one is most likely to be correct
the simplest answer is that the universe is uncaused and infinite or that it is the cause of its own

Question 7

give quote from Bertrand Russel about causes

Answer 7

‘just because every human has a mother does not mean the whole of humanity has a mother’

Question 8

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument stating that the cause of the universe is God

Answer 8

this need not be the God of theism (which aquinas does point out)

a first cause is not necessarily going to be benevolent, personal and intelligent (link to the problem of evil)

Question 9

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument stating that there is evidence that God exists

Answer 9

we cannot know how or whether the universe began

there is insufficient evidence so it is not possible to talk meaningfully abot God creating universes since we have no expereince creating a universe
we definitely do not have enough evidence to make any conclusions as to what the cause of the universe might be, if there even is a cause

Question 10

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument about like causes

Answer 10

like causes produce like effects - parent rabbits produce baby rabbits
why should we assume that there is one male ‘parent’ of the universe?

Question 11

what is hume’s challenge to the cosmological argument about psychology and causation

Answer 11

causation is nothing more than a psychological effect

e.g. is a billard ball hits another, we observe this motion but link the two in our minds, saying that one causes the other to move - there is no evidence of a link
he states that it is a ‘habit of the mind’ to link the two together

Question 12

what is hume’s challenge to the teleological argument about analogies

Answer 12

there is no human analogy sufficient enough to explain the origins of the universe because it is unique (link to religious language)
just because we know how a house is designed or built does not mean we can infer from this how the universe was designed because it is analogical
the universe demonstrates greater similarities to living organisms than artificial constructs

Question 13

define authentic designs and apparent designs

Answer 13

authentic designs: God is responsible for designing the whole universe
apparent designs: there is an appearance of design where none actually exists

Question 14

what is hume’s challenge to the teleological argument about apparent designs

Answer 14

it is a fallacy to assume that the universe is designed simply because it seems so
the universe is an apparent design

Question 15

what is hume’s challenge to the teleological argument about poor design

Answer 15

how do we know that the universe is designed well?
there is the presence of evil and other creations that put his prime creation in danger (sharks, lions, spiders etc) why would he want to put us in danger?
evidence suggest that the universe is far from being perfect and that the creator is not that of an omnibenevolent God

Question 16

what analogy did hume use about poor design

Answer 16

a shipwright
a ship is built out of the process of trial and error and there is no evidence that the boatbuilder is a paragon of design skill or intelligence
shows there may be better universes out there and this universe was designed by an apprentice God

Question 17

what is hume’s challenge to the teleological argument about the plurality of Gods

Answer 17

there could be many Gods involved in the creation of the universe
a ship has many builders so logically, it makes sense for there to be multiple designers

Question 18

what is hume’s challenge to the teleological argument about an absent God

Answer 18

a watch maker is unlikely to stay admiring and adjusting their work
it is more likely to move on to a new creation, or even die
a designer of the universe would not need to be around for worship or to intervene with its creation
to compare design from humanity with features of design in the universe is anthrompomorphism

Question 19

what is the epicurus challenge to the teleological argument

Answer 19

the current universe is no more than a random association of atoms that had previously been in a chaotic state
through the prinple nature of the universe, that changes, these atoms are re-organised to resemble order

Question 20

how does the big bang theory provide a challenge

Answer 20

by measuring the cosmic microwave background radiation scientists traced that nearly 14 billion years ago, a singularity caused the universe and was a random action of atoms colliding

Question 21

how does Darwin’s theory of natural selection provide a challenge

Answer 21

it is random chance that organises life in the universe
survival of the fittest eliminates the weak characteristics
species are suited to their environment because of their ability to adapt to surroundings, not because of a designer

Question 22

who was involved in the 1947 debate and what was it about

Answer 22

russel and copleston
the principle of sufficient reason

Question 23

explain Russel’s challenge to the principle of sufficient reason on the 1947 radio debate

Answer 23

copleston claimed that cause and effect is a sufficient reason to conclude that God exists as everything in the universe is contingent, so God must be necessary, following aquinas’ third way

russel said that ‘if everything has a cause, then why does the necessary being not have a cause? the universe is just there, and that’s all’