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Single Idea 6960

[filed under theme 28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / c. Teleological Proof critique ]

Full Idea

Since the effects resemble, we must infer by analogy that the causes also resemble; and that the Author of Nature is somewhat similar to the mind of man, though possessed of much larger faculties, proportioned to the grandeur of his work.

Gist of Idea

Analogy suggests that God has a very great human mind

Source

David Hume (Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion [1751], Part 2)

Book Ref

Hume,David: 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' [Penguin], p.54

The 217 ideas from David Hume

3661 'Natural beliefs' are unavoidable, whatever our judgements [Hume, by Strawson,G]
3902 Hume mistakenly lumps sensations and perceptions together as 'impressions' [Scruton on Hume]
6350 Premises can support an argument without entailing it [Pollock/Cruz on Hume]
8344 At first Hume said qualities are the causal entities, but later he said events [Hume, by Davidson]
15249 Hume never shows how a strong habit could generate the concept of necessity [Harré/Madden on Hume]
8339 Hume's regularity theory of causation is epistemological; he believed in some sort of natural necessity [Hume, by Strawson,G]
4636 All reasoning concerning matters of fact is based on analogy (with similar results of similar causes) [Hume]
13602 We cannot form an idea of a 'power', and the word is without meaning [Hume]
8422 Cause is where if the first object had not been, the second had not existed [Hume]
17712 General ideas are the connection by resemblance to some particular [Hume]
2182 Impressions are our livelier perceptions, Ideas the less lively ones [Hume]
23631 Hume is loose when he says perceptions of different strength are different species [Reid on Hume]
2183 We can only invent a golden mountain by combining experiences [Hume]
2184 All ideas are copies of impressions [Hume]
2185 The idea of an infinite, intelligent, wise and good God arises from augmenting the best qualities of our own minds [Hume]
2186 We cannot form the idea of something we haven't experienced [Hume]
23421 If a person had a gap in their experience of blue shades, they could imaginatively fill it in [Hume]
2187 If we suspect that a philosophical term is meaningless, we should ask what impression it derives from [Hume]
2189 All ideas are connected by Resemblance, Contiguity in time or place, and Cause and Effect [Hume]
3662 Hume says we can only know constant conjunctions, not that that's what causation IS [Hume, by Strawson,G]
2190 All objects of enquiry are Relations of Ideas, or Matters of Fact [Hume]
2191 Relations of ideas are known by thought, independently from the world [Hume]
2192 All reasoning about facts is causal; nothing else goes beyond memory and senses [Hume]
2194 How could Adam predict he would drown in water or burn in fire? [Hume]
2193 No causes can be known a priori, but only from experience of constant conjunctions [Hume]
2196 The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy [Hume]
2195 We can discover some laws of nature, but never its ultimate principles and causes [Hume]
2197 Reason assists experience in discovering laws, and in measuring their application [Hume]
2198 We assume similar secret powers behind similar experiences, such as the nourishment of bread [Hume]
3598 Hume just shows induction isn't deduction [Williams,M on Hume]
2200 All experimental conclusions assume that the future will be like the past [Hume]
2199 Reason cannot show why reliable past experience should extend to future times and remote places [Hume]
2702 Only madmen dispute the authority of experience [Hume]
2201 Induction can't prove that the future will be like the past, since induction assumes this [Hume]
2202 Fools, children and animals all learn from experience [Hume]
2203 If we infer causes from repetition, this explains why we infer from a thousand objects what we couldn't infer from one [Hume]
2204 All inferences from experience are effects of custom, not reasoning [Hume]
2205 You couldn't reason at all if you lacked experience [Hume]
2206 Reasons for belief must eventually terminate in experience, or they are without foundation [Hume]
2208 Belief is just a particular feeling attached to ideas of objects [Hume]
2207 Belief can't be a concept plus an idea, or we could add the idea to fictions [Hume]
2209 Belief is stronger, clearer and steadier than imagination [Hume]
8544 Hume does not distinguish real resemblances among degrees of resemblance [Shoemaker on Hume]
2210 A picture of a friend strengthens our idea of him, by resemblance [Hume]
2211 When I am close to (contiguous with) home, I feel its presence more nearly [Hume]
2212 An object made by a saint is the best way to produce thoughts of him [Hume]
2213 Beliefs are built up by resemblance, contiguity and causation [Hume]
2214 Our awareness of patterns of causation is too important to be left to slow and uncertain reasoning [Hume]
2215 There is no such thing as chance [Hume]
2216 We transfer the frequency of past observations to our future predictions [Hume]
8341 Hume never even suggests that there is no such thing as causation [Hume, by Strawson,G]
2217 When definitions are pushed to the limit, only experience can make them precise [Hume]
2218 In observing causes we can never observe any necessary connections or binding qualities [Hume]
2220 Only experience teaches us about our wills [Hume]
4771 In both of Hume's definitions, causation is extrinsic to the sequence of events [Psillos on Hume]
5194 Hume's definition of cause as constantly joined thoughts can't cover undiscovered laws [Ayer on Hume]
2221 A cause is either similar events following one another, or an experience always suggesting a second experience [Hume]
2222 The doctrine of free will arises from a false sensation we have of freedom in many actions [Hume]
2223 Liberty is merely acting according to the will, which anyone can do if they are not in chains [Hume]
2225 If you deny all necessity and causation, then our character is not responsible for our crime [Hume]
2226 Repentance gets rid of guilt, which shows that responsibility arose from the criminal principles in the mind [Hume]
2224 Praise and blame can only be given if an action proceeds from a person's character and disposition [Hume]
3655 Hume makes determinism less rigid by removing the necessity from causation [Trusted on Hume]
10328 We think testimony matches reality because of experience, not some a priori connection [Hume]
2228 All experience must be against a supposed miracle, or it wouldn't be called 'a miracle' [Hume]
2227 A miracle violates laws which have been established by continuous unchanging experience, so should be ignored [Hume]
2229 To establish a miracle the falseness of the evidence must be a greater miracle than the claimed miraculous event [Hume]
2230 Good testimony needs education, integrity, motive and agreement [Hume, by PG]
2232 You can't infer the cause to be any greater than its effect [Hume]
2233 No government has ever suffered by being too tolerant of philosophy [Hume]
4772 If a singular effect is studied, its cause can only be inferred from the types of events involved [Hume]
2234 It is only when two species of thing are constantly conjoined that we can infer one from the other [Hume]
2235 There is no certain supreme principle, or infallible rule of inference [Hume]
2236 Examples of illusion only show that sense experience needs correction by reason [Hume]
2237 It never occurs to people that they only experience representations, not the real objects [Hume]
2238 Reason can never show that experiences are connected to external objects [Hume]
2239 If secondary qualities (e.g. hardness) are in the mind, so are primary qualities like extension [Hume]
7700 We can't think about the abstract idea of triangles, but only of particular triangles [Hume]
2240 It is a very extravagant aim of the sceptics to destroy reason and argument by means of reason and argument [Hume]
2241 The main objection to scepticism is that no good can come of it [Hume]
2242 Mitigated scepticism draws attention to the limitations of human reason, and encourages modesty [Hume]
2243 Mitigated scepticism sensibly confines our enquiries to the narrow capacity of human understanding [Hume]
2246 If books don't relate ideas or explain facts, commit them to the flames [Hume]
2245 A priori it looks as if a cause could have absolutely any effect [Hume]
2244 It can never be a logical contradiction to assert the non-existence of something thought to exist [Hume]
3919 Conclusions of reason do not affect our emotions or decisions to act [Hume]
3918 Moral philosophy aims to show us our duty [Hume]
23560 If we all naturally had everything we could ever desire, the virtue of justice would be irrelevant [Hume]
3920 If you equalise possessions, people's talents will make them unequal again [Hume]
3921 The safety of the people is the supreme law [Hume]
3922 Justice only exists to support society [Hume]
3925 Personal Merit is the possession of useful or agreeable mental qualities [Hume]
3926 The human heart has a natural concern for public good [Hume]
3929 No moral theory is of any use if it doesn't serve the interests of the individual concerned [Hume]
3928 Virtue just requires careful calculation and a preference for the greater happiness [Hume]
3927 Society prefers helpful lies to harmful truth [Hume]
3923 No one would cause pain to a complete stranger who happened to be passing [Hume]
3924 Nature makes private affections come first, because public concerns are spread too thinly [Hume]
21094 There are two kinds of right - to power, and to property [Hume]
21095 It is an exaggeration to say that property is the foundation of all government [Hume]
20705 That events could be uncaused is absurd; I only say intuition and demonstration don't show this [Hume]
4579 The idea of a final cause is very uncertain and unphilosophical [Hume]
4580 All virtues benefit either the public, or the individual who possesses them [Hume]
4581 Virtues and vices are like secondary qualities in perception, found in observers, not objects [Hume]
7636 It can't be more rational to believe in natural laws than miracles if the laws are not rational [Ishaq on Hume]
6957 The objects of theological reasoning are too big for our minds [Hume]
6960 Analogy suggests that God has a very great human mind [Hume]
6958 How can we pronounce on a whole after a brief look at a very small part? [Hume]
6959 We can't assume God's perfections are like our ideas or like human attributes [Hume]
6961 An analogy begins to break down as soon as the two cases differ [Hume]
6962 The thing which contains order must be God, so see God where you see order [Hume]
6965 The universe may be the result of trial-and-error [Hume]
6964 From our limited view, we cannot tell if the universe is faulty [Hume]
21281 This excellent world may be the result of a huge sequence of trial-and-error [Hume]
21283 Humans renew their species sexually. If there are many gods, would they not do the same? [Hume]
21284 This Creator god might be an infant or incompetent or senile [Hume]
21279 If the divine cause is proportional to its effects, the effects are finite, so the Deity cannot be infinite [Hume]
21282 Design cannot prove a unified Deity. Many men make a city, so why not many gods for a world? [Hume]
21280 From a ship you would judge its creator a genius, not a mere humble workman [Hume]
6963 Why would we infer an infinite creator from a finite creation? [Hume]
6966 Creation is more like vegetation than human art, so it won't come from reason [Hume]
6967 Order may come from an irrational source as well as a rational one [Hume]
21286 Motion often begins in matter, with no sign of a controlling agent [Hume]
21287 The universe could settle into superficial order, without a designer [Hume]
21288 Ideas arise from objects, not vice versa; ideas only influence matter if they are linked [Hume]
21285 Events are baffling before experience, and obvious after experience [Hume]
21256 A surprise feature of all products of 9 looks like design, but is actually a necessity [Hume]
21254 A chain of events requires a cause for the whole as well as the parts, yet the chain is just a sum of parts [Hume]
1435 If something must be necessary so that something exists rather than nothing, why can't the universe be necessary? [Hume]
21255 No being's non-existence can imply a contradiction, so its existence cannot be proved a priori [Hume]
6581 Hume thought (unlike Locke) that property is a merely conventional relationship [Hume, by Fogelin]
21097 Modern monarchies are (like republics) rule by law, rather than by men [Hume]
4677 If suicide is wrong because only God disposes of our lives, it must also be wrong to save lives [Hume]
21096 The only purpose of government is to administer justice, which brings security [Hume]
21099 People must have agreed to authority, because they are naturally equal, prior to education [Hume]
21100 The idea that society rests on consent or promises undermines obedience [Hume]
20495 We no more give 'tacit assent' to the state than a passenger carried on board a ship while asleep [Hume]
6703 Poor people lack the knowledge or wealth to move to a different state [Hume]
21101 The people would be amazed to learn that government arises from their consent [Hume]
21102 We all know that the history of property is founded on injustices [Hume]
21103 Moral questions can only be decided by common opinion [Hume]
21091 It would be absurd if even a free constitution did not impose restraints, for the public good [Hume]
21092 Nobility either share in the power of the whole, or they compose the power of the whole [Hume]
21093 Friendship without community spirit misses out on the main part of virtue [Hume]
18552 Forget about beauty; just concentrate on the virtues of delicacy and discernment admired in critics [Hume, by Scruton]
6608 Strong sense, delicate sentiment, practice, comparisons, and lack of prejudice, are all needed for good taste [Hume]
4008 Modern science has destroyed the Platonic synthesis of scientific explanation and morality [Hume, by Taylor,C]
8067 The problem of getting to 'ought' from 'is' would also apply in getting to 'owes' or 'needs' [Anscombe on Hume]
20030 If one event causes another, the two events must be wholly distinct [Hume, by Wilson/Schpall]
6692 For Hume, practical reason has little force, because we can always modify our desires [Hume, by Graham]
5548 Hume became a total sceptic, because he believed that reason was a deception [Hume, by Kant]
7446 The idea of inductive evidence, around 1660, made Hume's problem possible [Hume, by Hacking]
3819 Hume's 'bundle' won't distinguish one mind with ten experiences from ten minds [Searle on Hume]
6489 Associationism results from having to explain intentionality just with sense-data [Robinson,H on Hume]
6182 Even Hume didn't include mathematics in his empiricism [Hume, by Kant]
6526 Hume says objects are not a construction, but an imaginative leap [Hume, by Robinson,H]
11098 Momentary impressions are wrongly identified with one another on the basis of resemblance [Hume, by Quine]
19274 Hume seems to presuppose necessary connections between mental events [Kripke on Hume]
8382 For Hume a constant conjunction is both necessary and sufficient for causation [Hume, by Crane]
12048 The only meaning we have for substance is a collection of qualities [Hume]
7954 If we see a resemblance among objects, we apply the same name to them, despite their differences [Hume]
9428 Nothing we clearly imagine is absolutely impossible [Hume]
8649 Two numbers are equal if all of their units correspond to one another [Hume]
4766 Necessity only exists in the mind, and not in objects [Hume]
21291 There is no medium state between existence and non-existence [Hume]
21293 Individuation is only seeing that a thing is stable and continuous over time [Hume]
1207 Both number and unity are incompatible with the relation of identity [Hume]
21290 Multiple objects cannot convey identity, because we see them as different [Hume]
21289 'An object is the same with itself' is meaningless; it expresses unity, not identity [Hume]
21292 Saying an object is the same with itself is only meaningful over a period of time [Hume]
13424 Aristotelians propose accidents supported by substance, but they don't understand either of them [Hume]
14301 We have no good concept of solidity or matter, because accounts of them are all circular [Hume]
21296 If all of my perceptions were removed by death, nothing more is needed for total annihilation [Hume]
1321 If identity survives change or interruption, then resemblance, contiguity or causation must unite the parts of it [Hume]
1330 If a republic can retain identity through many changes, so can an individual [Hume]
21299 Changing a part can change the whole, not absolutely, but by its proportion of the whole [Hume]
21300 A change more obviously destroys an identity if it is quick and observed [Hume]
21302 If a ruined church is rebuilt, its relation to its parish makes it the same church [Hume]
21303 We accept the identity of a river through change, because it is the river's nature [Hume]
21301 The purpose of the ship makes it the same one through all variations [Hume]
1317 A person is just a fast-moving bundle of perceptions [Hume]
1331 The parts of a person are always linked together by causation [Hume]
1388 Hume gives us an interesting sketchy causal theory of personal identity [Perry on Hume]
21297 A person is simply a bundle of continually fluctuating perceptions [Hume]
1316 Introspection always discovers perceptions, and never a Self without perceptions [Hume]
1333 Memory only reveals personal identity, by showing cause and effect [Hume]
1332 We use memory to infer personal actions we have since forgotten [Hume]
21305 Memory not only reveals identity, but creates it, by producing resemblances [Hume]
21307 Who thinks that because you have forgotten an incident you are no longer that person? [Hume]
21306 Causation unites our perceptions, by producing, destroying and modifying each other [Hume]
21294 A continuous lifelong self must be justified by a single sustained impression, which we don't have [Hume]
21295 When I introspect I can only observe my perceptions, and never a self which has them [Hume]
21298 We pretend our perceptions are continuous, and imagine a self to fill the gaps [Hume]
21304 Identity in the mind is a fiction, like that fiction that plants and animals stay the same [Hume]
21806 Memory, senses and understanding are all founded on the imagination [Hume]
22374 You can only hold people responsible for actions which arise out of their character [Hume]
8257 Reason alone can never be a motive to any action of the will [Hume]
3807 Reason is and ought to be the slave of the passions [Hume]
3650 Total selfishness is not irrational [Hume]
4578 You can't move from 'is' to 'ought' without giving some explanation or reason for the deduction [Hume]
22382 We cannot discover vice by studying a wilful murder; that only arises from our own feelings [Hume]
12417 Mathematicians only accept their own proofs when everyone confims them [Hume]
11950 We have no idea of powers, because we have no impressions of them [Hume]
11949 There may well be powers in things, with which we are quite unacquainted [Hume]
11941 The distinction between a power and its exercise is entirely frivolous [Hume]
11942 Power is the possibility of action, as discovered by experience [Hume]
15755 Hume needs a notion which includes degrees of resemblance [Shoemaker on Hume]
16946 Causation is just invariance, as long as it is described in general terms [Quine on Hume]
15250 If impressions, memories and ideas only differ in vivacity, nothing says it is memory, or repetition [Whitehead on Hume]
20189 Belief is a feeling, independent of the will, which arises from uncontrolled and unknown causes [Hume]
21309 A proposition cannot be intelligible or consistent, if the perceptions are not so [Hume]
21311 Are self and substance the same? Then how can self remain if substance changes? [Hume]
21312 Perceptions are distinct, so no connection between them can ever be discovered [Hume]
21308 We have no impression of the self, and we therefore have no idea of it [Hume]
21310 Does an oyster with one perception have a self? Would lots of perceptions change that? [Hume]
5323 Experiences are logically separate, but factually linked by simultaneity or a feeling of continuousness [Ayer on Hume]
23115 We have no natural love of mankind, other than through various relationships [Hume]