Arts and Humanities Commons^™

David Hume On Miracles, Kyle G. Sessions

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Albert Einstein once said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is." A quick study of David Hume's Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding reveals that he believed strongly in the first way. Why is this? First of all, it is in his definition of miracle. Hume defines a miracle as a violation of the laws of nature. This is a problematic definition to begin with, as it appears to preclude the possibility of there ever being a miracle. If a miracle is something that violates …