Theme1C Challenges To Inductive Arguments Flashcards
1
Q
Who was David Hume?
A
A Scottish philosopher (1711-1776) who was an empiricist and skeptic. He challenged both the cosmological and teleological arguments for God’s existence.
2
Q
What is the fallacy of composition in Hume’s critique of the cosmological argument?
A
It is the mistaken assumption that because parts of something have a property, the whole must have the same property (e.g., assuming that since everything in the universe has a cause, the universe itself must have a cause).
3
Q
What is Ockham’s Razor, and how does Hume use it against the cosmological argument?
A
Ockham’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is usually the best. Hume argues that assuming the universe requires no external cause is a simpler explanation than postulating God.
4
Q
A
