Scottish.
1711-1776 CE.
Empiricist.
Skeptic.
How would someone who
had never experienced life
on earth but was
convinced that all creation
was created by an
omnibenevolent,
omnipotent, omnipresent
god explain the existence
of suffering in the world?
(71)
Limited intelligence.
Ignorance.
“Many solutions of those
phenomena which will
forever escape his
comprehension.” (71)
How would
someone who had
experience of life on
earth be challenged
to find evidence that
all creation was
created by an
omnibenevolent,
omnipotent,
omnipresent god?
(71)
“If you find any
inconveniences and
deformities in the
building, you will always
without entering into any
detail, condemn the
architect.” (71)
“Conjectures,
especially where
infinity is excluded
from the Divine
attributes, may
perhaps be sufficient
to prove a consistency,
but can never be
foundations for any
inference.” (72)
Why not?
No pain; no gain.
Motivation by the stick.
What’s the weakness of this
argument, according to
Hume?
“Men pursue pleasure as
eagerly as they avoid pain; at
least, they might have been
so constituted.”
The first circumstance which
introduces evil is that
contrivance or economy of
the animal creation by which
pains, as well as pleasures, are
employed to excite all
creatures to action, and make
them vigilant the great work
of self-preservation.” (72)
Life would be impossible to
navigate if every situation were a
new one.
What’s the weakness Hume finds
in this claim?
“A being, therefore, who knows
the secret springs of the universe
might easily, by particular
volitions, turn all these accidents
to the good of mankind and
render the whole world happy.”
“It is true, if everything
were conducted by
particular volitions,
the course of nature
would be perpetually
broken, and non man
could employ his
reason in the conduct
of life.” (72)
People have limited powers and
abilities.
What’s the problem with this
argument, according to Hume?
“A builder is never esteemed
prudent who undertakes a plan
beyond what his stock will enable
him to finish?” (73)
“Every animal has the requisite
endowments, but these
endowments are bestowed with
so scrupulous an economy that
any considerable diminution must “The Author of nature is
entirely destroy the creature.”
inconceivably powerful; his force
(73)
is supposed great, if not
altogether inexhaustible, nor is
Increase in one power, decreases there any reason, as far as we can
judge, to make him observe this
another.
strict frugality in his dealings with
his creatures.” (73)
We can’t hack it and do bad
things in desperation.
“Thus the winds are requisite
to convey the vapours along
the surface of the globe, and
to assist men in navigation,
but how often, rising up to
tempests and hurricanes, do
they become pernicious.”
(74)
Rain becomes a flood, heat
brings drought, love leads
some to murder, etc.
• Is God willing to prevent evil but unable to do so?
• Then he is not omnipotent.
• Is God able to prevent evil but unwilling to do so?
• Then he is malevolent (or at least not
omnibenevolent).
• If God is both willing and able to prevent evil then
why is there evil in the world?