Gods Existence, Nature of Divine, and Evils Experience in the Dialogues by Hume

Author(s)

Marília Côrtes de Ferraz

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2012-04-27

Examining board members

Pedro Paulo Garrido Pimenta; Eduardo Salles de Oliveira Barra; Roberto Bolzani Filho; Fernão de Oliveira Salles dos Santos Cruz; Lívia Mara Guimarães

• Advisor: Pedro Paulo Garrido Pimenta

Abstract

It is stated that the treatment given by Hume to the relationship between God and moral evil at the end of section 8 of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (EHU) has its deeper and more sophisticated development in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Although Hume also treats this topic in section 11 of EHU, the wide and deep criticism regarding the assumptions raised by the design argument in Dialogues offers an effective development on the issue examined by Hume in EHU 8. The abandonment, in EHU 8, of a more detailed examination concerning the problem of the relationship between evil and divinity is understandable. Among other things, Hume intended to argue on that section in favour of an instance of destination to judgments of moral responsibility, namely, the character. Thus, it is acceptable his assertion that it is impossible to explain distinctly, how the Deity can be the mediate cause of all the actions of men without being the author of sin and moral turpitude. These are mysteries, which mere natural and unassisted reason is very unfit to handle; and whatever system she embraces, she must find herself involved in inextricable difficulties(8 EHU § 36). Hume certainly did not solve these difficulties in its totality in the Dialogues, but he tried to confront them to the extent that as \"unassisted reason\" can do so, that is, without the support of the religious dogma. From this aspect of Hume\'s criticism undertaken in the Dialogues, my intention is to examine in what extent the design argument is endangered by the recognition of evil in the world. Before that, I must walk a long path examining the two proofs of Gods existence discussed in the Dialogues. (AU)