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    Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion establishes ... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→If we attribute wisdom to a being sufficient to plan the creation of the world, we must also attribute to that being the power sufficient to execute that plan.

    Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion establishes that inferences about an artisan's capacities are properly constrained by the observed quality of the artifact alone.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Philo's empiricist argument shows that inferring divine omnipotence from world-imperfections commits the fallacy of exceeding observed evidence.
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    • 2.A potter's skill is only knowable through examining actual pots; similarly, God's attributes can only be inferred from the actual world we observe.
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    • 3.Hume systematically demonstrates that multiple competing hypotheses (finite gods, committees, apprentices) fit the world equally well, undercutting single inferences.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Hume's dialogues remain inconclusive between positions; Cleanthes defends inference to design despite Philo's critiques, suggesting the claim overstates Hume's establishment.
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    • 2.Observable artifacts (watches, houses) typically have accessible origins; the universe's origins are categorically different, so the analogy may require independent constraints.
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    • 3.Even if artifact quality constrains inferences, this doesn't establish which artisan-attributes are constrained—power, knowledge, and benevolence may warrant different inference rules.
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    Connections

    2 topics

    Natural Theology1 linkedDivine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    A potter's skill is only knowable through examining actual pots; similarly, God'...Even if artifact quality constrains inferences, this doesn't establish which art...Hume systematically demonstrates that multiple competing hypotheses (finite gods...Hume's dialogues remain inconclusive between positions; Cleanthes defends infere...
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    If we attribute wisdom to a being sufficient to plan the creation of the world, ...Observable artifacts (watches, houses) typically have accessible origins; the un...Philo's empiricist argument shows that inferring divine omnipotence from world-i...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit