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Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles

Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles. Swinburne’s response to Hume’s analysis of miracles (“Miracles and Historical Evidence,” from Miracles (Oxford UP, 1989) Testimony can be tested in ways similar to the testing of other kind of evidence

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Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles

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  1. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles • Swinburne’s response to Hume’s analysis of miracles (“Miracles and Historical Evidence,” from Miracles (Oxford UP, 1989) • Testimony can be tested in ways similar to the testing of other kind of evidence • What is the kind of reasoning used in considering normal empirical evidence Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 1

  2. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles • Swinburne’s answer: Inductive reasoning • a belongs to class M and displays property K • b belongs to class M and displays property K    • Therefore, All Ms probably have property K Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 2

  3. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles • Now this same kind of reasoning can be applied to the evaluation of miracles • (1) Jones (an ancient author) states in book X that K occurred & independent evidence supports this. • (2) Jones states in Book Y that L occurred and independent evidence supports this. • (3) Jones states in Book Z that he witnessed a miracle. Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 3

  4. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles •  On the basis of (1) & (2), we can say that Jones is a reliable author. • And, therefore, his report in Book Z should be accepted. • Conclusion: We can use normal inductive reasoning (used in science all the time) to determine whether to accept testimony from the distant past. Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 4

  5. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles • In another book, The Existence of God (Oxford UP, 1979), Swinburne introduces a Principle of Testimony (272): • In the absence of special considerations, the experiences of others are probably as they report them. • Why should we accept this? Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 5

  6. Swinburne’s response to Hume on testimony about miracles • Because if we do not, we are reduced to a radical skepticism with respect to most of our knowledge. Swinburne's response to Hume on testimony ~ slide 6

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