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    Hume's epistemological principle holds that testimony for... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→A responsible inquirer cannot afford to dismiss out of hand all cases that seem to defy ordinary naturalistic explanation.

    Hume's epistemological principle holds that testimony for miraculous events must be weighed against the base-rate probability of natural alternatives, including fraud, misperception, and confabulation.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Natural explanations (hallucination, fraud, memory error) occur frequently in human experience; miracles by definition are extraordinarily rare.
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    • 2.Bayesian reasoning requires that extraordinary claims demand proportionally stronger evidence to overcome prior probabilities.
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    • 3.Multiple documented cases show eyewitness testimony fails even for ordinary events; miracle claims deserve heightened scrutiny.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Base-rate frequency arguments assume miracles are antecedently impossible, but this begs the question against theistic worldviews.
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    • 2.Eyewitness reliability varies dramatically by context; well-corroborated, immediate testimonies differ fundamentally from distant reports.
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    • 3.Hume's principle conflates statistical improbability with epistemic unreliability; unique events can still be well-evidenced.
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    Key Terms

    Base-rate probability(as what miracle claims should be measured against)
    The actual likelihood or frequency of something happening in reality, based on historical data or general patterns.
    Epistemological(Describing what type of criterion Descartes's test is)
    Having to do with how we know things and what counts as real knowledge, rather than questions about what actually exists.
    Fraud(as a natural alternative explanation for testimony)
    Deliberate deception or dishonesty intended to trick or mislead someone.
    Hume(as the main philosopher discussed in this statement)
    David Hume was an 18th-century Scottish philosopher who argued that human knowledge comes from experience and observation rather than pure reasoning alone.
    Miraculous events(as the subject being evaluated)
    Extraordinary occurrences that appear to violate the normal laws of nature, like healings or supernatural phenomena.
    Misperception(as a natural alternative explanation for testimony)
    An incorrect or mistaken understanding of what you see, hear, or experience due to confusion or error.
    confabulation(Robins' taxonomy of memory errors)
    A memory error in which the memory process results in an inaccurate representation of an event with no retention of information from experience of that event
    testimony(social epistemology)
    The transmission of knowledge or information from one person to another by telling them

    Connections

    1 topic

    Afterlife & Death1 linked

    Related

    A responsible inquirer cannot afford to dismiss out of hand all cases that seem ...Base-rate frequency arguments assume miracles are antecedently impossible, but t...Bayesian reasoning requires that extraordinary claims demand proportionally stro...Eyewitness reliability varies dramatically by context; well-corroborated, immedi...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    +3 moreShow less
    Hume's principle conflates statistical improbability with epistemic unreliabilit...Multiple documented cases show eyewitness testimony fails even for ordinary even...Natural explanations (hallucination, fraud, memory error) occur frequently in hu...