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Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion1 closes with an endorsement of the very position which it has consistently attacked, namely belief in an orderer. Hume's willingness to oppose arguments supporting a position in which he believes means that, despite mounting severe criticisms, he can consistently support a designer as the optimum hypothesis for order in the world. He produced numerous statements of order in the world and then, in Part 12 of the DNR, alleged that persons of understanding would find that belief in a designer follows.
1 Hume, D., Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (ed.) Smith, N.K., (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1947/1779)Google Scholar abbreviated DNR in the text.
2 Black, T. and Gressis, R., ‘True religion in Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion’, British Journal for The History Of Philosophy 25 (2017), 244–264, 244CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
3 Willis, A.C., The Potential Use-Value of Hume's ‘True Religion’, The Journal of Scottish Philosophy 13.1 (2015), 1–15. 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
4 Ha, L. Tai, ‘Was Hume an Atheist? A Reconsideration’, Filozofia 66 (2011), 240–257, 240Google Scholar.
5 Nelson, J.O., ‘The Role of Part XII in Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion’ Hume Studies XIV. 2, (November, 1988), 347–372, 348CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
6 Hume, D., Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning The Principles of Morals (ed.) Selby-Bigge, L.A., rev. Nidditch, P.H. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975/1777), 149 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, abbreviated EHU in the text.
7 I am grateful to Mr T. Miles for his perceptive comments on an earlier version of this paper.
8 Ibid., 178
9 Argument from design.
10 Tarrant, J., ‘Hume's Fundamental Problem of Evil’, Philosophy 89 (2014), 603–620, 607CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
11 Hume, D., Principal Writings on Religion including Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and The Natural History of Religion (ed.) Gaskin, J.C.A., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993/1757, 1779)Google Scholar, abbreviated NHR in the text, 184.
12 The term is used several times by Hume and refers to ordinary people whom he deems incapable of appreciating a holistic view of the world.
13 Hume, EHU, op. cit. 40–55.
14 Ibid.
15 Nelson, op. cit. 352.
16 Tarrant, op. cit.
17 There was considerable variation in the views of the deists. Samuel Clarke in the Boyle lectures attempted a classification, though it was heavily weighted in terms of his own prejudices. What should be said is that there were considerable differences between Lord Herbert, Tindall, Toland and Shaftesbury, though to varying degrees they combined in rejecting revelation. Hume resented attempts to call him a deist, not so much for the notoriety of the term, but for its association with reason as the foundation of religion.
18 It should be said that, in general, Philo retains his critical stance on matters that come before him.
19 Here Cleanthes adumbrates a position so important in chapter 12 where sentiment and not acceptance of the design argument has a role to play in supporting the acceptance of an orderer
20 Hume, DNR, op. cit., 154.
21 Hume, DNR, op. cit. 201–202. Interestingly, Philo makes this concession to Cleanthes in the context of a devastating attack on divine morality. For a discussion of the latter see Tarrant, op. cit.
22 Hume, NHR, op. cit. 134.
23 Persons of cultivation, understanding and good judgement.
24 Hume, A Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend in Edinburgh (eds) Mossner, E.C. and Price, J.V. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1967/1745)Google Scholar, abbreviated LFG in the text.
25 Ibid., 138.
26 Ibid.
27 See page 11.
28 Hume, The History of England (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1993/1778)Google ScholarPubMed. See for example Hume's distaste for the Independents as a recipe for chaos, vol. 6, 62, and his recognition of the Church of England as a bastion of order, vol. 5, 442, abbreviated History in the text.
29 Hume, DNR, op. cit. 178. Hume had introduced the possibility that the world arose from a seed shed by another world.
30 Ibid., 215.
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid., 216. My italics.
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid., 216–217.
36 There is no one quintessential statement of deism, there being considerable differences between the views of the deists such as Herbert, Toland and Woolston. Shaftesbury's Letter, with its condemnation of enthusiasm, may be taken as the view of a moderate deist. Hume does not distinguish between shades of deism but in most cases there was commonality with theism on design and Hume sometimes uses the term theist to embrace moderate deists although there were differences on the matter of a personal and moral God.
37 Hume's use of the term theist is confusing. At times, as in this case, he uses an aspect of what is common between theism and deism which is support for an intelligent designer and ignores differences between them. Hume also uses the term theism when contrasting monotheists, who would include deists, with polytheists, see NHR, 160.
38 Hume, DNR, op. cit. 136.
39 Ibid., 217.
40 The term, verbal dispute, occurs in the EHU with discussion of the terms liberty and necessity, EHU, op. cit. 93.
41 Ibid., 81.
42 Ibid., 312.
43 Ibid.
44 Hume, DNR, op. cit. 218.
45 Ibid., 217.
46 Ibid.
47 Ibid., 218.
48 Ibid., 227.
49 Ibid., 217.
50 Ibid., 217–218.
51 Hume, NHR, op. cit. 160.
52 Ibid., 153.
53 Ibid., 183.
54 Hume, EHU, op. cit. 294. The endorsement of divinely endorsed hierarchy of classes is found in Mrs Alexanders’ hymn: All Things Bright and Beautiful and the most prominent exponent of this aspect of design was William Paley.
55 Hume, A Letter Concerning The Dialogues 10th March 1751 in NHR, op. cit. 25, hereafter the letter in the text.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid., 26.
58 Hume, DNR, op. cit. 216.
59 Hume, History, op. cit. V 442.
60 The a priori argument is summarily dismissed in DNR Part 9.
