The Dialogues, though, deals exclusively with the
subject of natural religion and in this work Hume offers his most
systematic critique of the subject.
THE CHARACTERS OF THE DIALOGUES. Hume's decision to compose
this work in dialog form is significant. During the 18th century,
Great Britain was among the most free countries in Europe, and
political authorities allowed a great amount of unobstructed
expression. However, religious leaders believed that rational
proofs for God's existence were almost as integral to
Christianity as the Bible itself. Accordingly, officials viewed
direct attacks on natural theology as an abuse of free
expression. To avoid political confrontation, Hume adopted the
common literary technique of presenting controversial arguments
in dialog form. There are three principal characters in Hume's
Dialogues. On the conservative side of the issue, a character
named Cleanthes offers a posteriori arguments for God's
existence, particularly the design argument:
(a) Machines are produced by intelligent design
(b) Universe resembles a machine
(c) Therefore, the universe was produced by intelligent
design
The design argument rests on an analogy between the design we
recognize in human-created artifacts and similar design we
recognize in the universe. This similarity of design entitles us
to conclude that the universe was likewise created by intelligent
design. Most of the Dialogues focuses on aspects of the design
argument.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25