David Hume on the Deductive Proofs of the Divine Existence in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion

Abstract

* The article aims at critically exploring David Hume’s analysis of the divine being with respect to the widely accepted cosmological argument. Part IX of Hume’s work in the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion reflects the formulation of the cosmological argument in the form of a deductive proof through the voice of a character named Demea. The author then counters Demea’s version of this argument through the voice of his next important character named Cleanthes. The main purpose of the paper is the reconstruction of the proofs in a form amenable to logical analysis in propositional logic which demonstrates that all of the proofs can be given a valid form. This reconstruction enables one to glean some of the similarities and differences between the arguments to obtain some insight into their workings. The paper does not concern the soundness of the arguments. Neither does it discuss the truth of the premises and the philosophical principles behind them.