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4 - Rationality and Miracles

from Part I - Faith and Rationality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2023

By
Charity Anderson
Edited by
Jonathan Fuqua ,
John Greco  and
Tyler McNabb
Jonathan Fuqua
Affiliation:
Conception Seminary College, Missouri
John Greco
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Tyler McNabb
Affiliation:
Saint Francis University, Pennsylvania
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Summary

Two themes have dominated philosophical discussions concerning the rationality of believing a report of a miracle. The first relies on the idea that miracles are by definition massively improbable. The second theme involves the thought that testimony is, in general, not a very reliable source of information. The result of combining these two themes is that it is very difficult – some suggest impossible – to rationally believe that a miracle has occurred on the basis of testimony: on its own, testimony is too weak to outweigh the improbability of a miracle. Both themes are addressed in Hume’s famous essay on miracles. This chapter examines each theme and critically discusses interpretations of and replies to Hume’s argument.

Keywords

MiracleRationalityTestimonyHumeReligious Belief
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Religious Epistemology , pp. 56 - 69
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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