Hume's Abject Failure: The Argument Against Miracles 1st Edition

by John Earman (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0195127386

ISBN-10: 0195127382

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This vital study offers a new interpretation of Hume's famous "Of Miracles," which notoriously argues against the possibility of miracles. By situating Hume's popular argument in the context of the eighteenth-century debate on miracles, Earman shows Hume's argument to be largely unoriginal and chiefly without merit where it is original. Yet Earman constructively conceives how progress can be made on the issues that Hume's essay so provocatively posed about the ability of eyewitness testimony to establish the credibility of marvelous and miraculous events.

Hume's Abject Failure: The Argument Against Miracles

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Product Details

Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (November 23, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195127382
ISBN-13: 978-0195127386
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.9 x 6.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,653,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #738 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > Metaphysics
- #3207 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Metaphysics
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Top Customer Reviews

Excellent Application of Probability Theory

ByJohn DePoeon June 5, 2006

Format: Paperback

John Earman has written a wonderful book that shows the value of using the precision of probability theory to bring clarity to a murky issue. Long have certain philosophers marvelled at David Hume's essay, "On Miracles," supposing it to be an original and creative refutation of believing in miracles. Earman shows that Hume's arguments are neither original nor sound at establishing his pessimistic outlook on miracles. Moreover, using probability calculus, Earman is able to establish clearly that Hume's argument is a failure. In fact, Earman shows that many of Hume's contemporaries were familiar with probabilistic reasoning and were able to demonstrate Hume was wrong within in his own lifetime. So, not only was Hume wrong, but his failure cannot be attributed to the lack of development of inductive reasoning in his time. Earman works hard trying to understand what exactly Hume meant by examining Hume's personal letters and the developments of Hume's essay as it was published in various editions. After several attempts to read Hume charitably, Earman finds Hume's application of probabilistic reasoning is muddled and confused, at best. Furthermore, Earman shows that if Hume was right, this would spell disaster for inductive reasoning that confirms (or disconfirms) scientific reasoning. Those who endorse Hume's argument against miracles are supporting a line of reasoning that would eqully undermine science.

Earman's book is commendable for a number of reasons. First, it is a first-rate work in philosophy that is written clearly. Earman's rigor coupled with his readable prose make for a rewarding study. Second, this book makes significant contribution to Humean scholarship where Earman convincingly argues for various ways to interpret Hume, which he substantiates with cross-referencing the work of Hume and his interaction with his contemporaries. Third, the book is a powerful lesson in probability theory (especially Bayesianism). Some background in probabilistic reasoning may be needed to understand parts of the book, but even a cursory knowledge of probability theory will be nourished by Earman's work. Fourth, this book puts forward some substantial theories relevant to philosophy of religion, especially the nature of miracles. Fifth, the second half of the book is filled with important sources on the 18th century deist controversy, which are invaluable to studying probability and confirmation of miraculous events by eyewitness testimony. For those who find these issues to be important and wish to get a better handle on how to think clearly through these issues, this book will be a welcome piece of scholarship.

55 comments 46 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Outstanding Piece of Scholarship

ByReader From Auroraon May 17, 2007

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In Hume's Abject Failure - The Argument against Miracles, John Earman offers a cogent and comprehensive refutation of Hume's argument against miracles originally published as "On Miracles" in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

Hume's contention is that given the "unique" nature of miracles no human testimony can suffice to render them credible - i.e. day-to-day experience necessarily trumps claims of the miraculous or novel. This argument has provoked interesting and occasionally heated discussion throughout the years. While containing some apparent truisms - such as the need for good reasons in an evidentiary construct and the gullibility of people- Hume's claims are generally viewed as being overstated. In criticising Hume, Earman is not arguing for the truth of any alleged miracles, rather he is contending that Hume's attempt to dismiss miracles a priori is unwarranted. It is interesting to consider the implications of Hume's assertion if it were true - much modern scientific theory such as quantum mechanics or Darwinism would be decimated. Some commentators have tried to minimize this logical extension by arguing that science deals with a different subject matter and as a consequence is immune from this criticism- this seems contrived and unconvincing.

Though not original in his assessment of Hume's failure, Earman's exposition of the issue is the most comprehensive and well articulated that I have encountered. He highlights two important factors that likely contributed to Hume's failure, an inadequate understanding of inductive argumentation and wishful thinking. With regard to former, Earman highlights many of Hume's shortcomings and in the process does a nice job in explaining Bayesian probability.

While, in regard to wishful thinking, seeing what we believe is not unique to Hume. It seems evident that reason can be skewed by belief and emotion. Arguments concerning ethics or faith issues are particularly notorious in this regard. As Earman notes, faith positions (e.g. naturalism or atheism) often seems to play a role in defences of Hume's argument against miracles. It is interesting that at the outset Earman feels compelled to state his lack of theistic belief - in an apparent effort to diffuse similar criticism.

This small book (approx. 200 pages) is divided into two parts. In the first part, Earman lays out his case, while the second part is comprised of various historic writings that pertain to the issue. These extracts include "On Miracles" and various other historic criticisms of Hume's. I find this structure very helpful - not having to go back and forth to primary sources. Aside from the lucidness of Earman's argument I was especially impressed by the quality of thought exhibited by some of Hume's early critics whom I had not previously encountered, Price is especially impressive.

Overall, this is an outstanding book. I highly recommend it to students of philosophical history and the philosophy of religion.

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A Very Badly Needed Book

ByProf. Dr John Warwick Montgomery (London, England et Strasbourg, France)on December 18, 2001

Format: Paperback

Introductory philosophy courses in college or university invariably include Hume's argument against miracles in the philosophy of religion unit to convince students that one cannot use evidence of miracles (such as the resurrection of Christ) to argue for metaphysical truths. Of course, Hume's argument SHOULD be included in the course--but in the LOGIC section as an archetypal piece of bad reasoning. Finally, a professional philosopher--who is by no means a Christian believer--has done a thoroughgoing scholarly critique of Hume's argument, showing beyond all question that the argument is perfectly circular: Hume, with a pre-Einsteinian, 18th century mindset, assumes that "uniform experience" exists against miracles and concludes--surprise, surprise--that no evidence can ever be effectively marshalled to prove that a miracle has really occurred. This book should be read by every naive philosophical rationalist. It will open epistemological doors to a new appreciation of the potential of miracle arguments as a prime support to claims for a genuine, historical incarnation.

77 comments 56 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Hard to Overestimate the Importance of This Work

Introduction to Philosophy classes - the only formal exposure to philosophy that most students receive - often include a reading of David Hume's "Of Miracles."Read more

Published on May 9, 2013 by J. Steve Miller

Every modern atheist leans on Hume's argument against miracles, turns out they are wrong

Basically, this book looks at the Hume arguments against miracles and finds his logic flawed. To really follow this book in detail one needs to be a good statistician, and I...Read more

Published on July 10, 2012 by WSV1975

Ouch! Earman is Wrong about Hume.

Earman attributes to Hume the view that "the probabibility of a miracle is flatly zero." (p. 23.) This is a serious misreading of Hume.Read more

Published on June 24, 2009 by Steve Baughman

Earman hits a home run!

David Hume's argument against miracles has been widely cited by skeptics almost since the day it was written.Read more

Published on February 27, 2009 by J.R. Fraser

Hume humiliated.

According to Hume, uniform experience is against miracles such that a report of a miracle is always suspect.Read more

Published on August 4, 2006 by GangstaLawya

Toward a robust critique of miracle myths

This is a fascinating and useful new approach to the question of Hume on miracles, including many of the original essays relevant to the debate, plus an extended argument using...Read more

Published on February 25, 2006 by John C. Landon

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