Study Questions for Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, Parts VII-IX

1. (Pp.44-46) Philo continues, arguing that Cleanthes’ principles lead to the conclusion that our universe is generated from previous universes, as animals or vegetables are propagated. What is his argument? Do you think he is really committed to the truth of this claim?  If so, why?  If not, why would he suggest it?

2. (P.46) Demea suggests that, if our universe was produced in the way vegetables are, this still needs to be explained, and a designer must be postulated to explain it. How does Philo reply (pp.46-48)?

3. On p.48 Cleanthes admits that he has no immediate reply, but he discounts Philo’s arguments. What does he say about them?

4. In Section VIII (pp.49-53) Philo suggests yet another hypothesis to explain the order in the world: that random change, if continued long enough, may eventually produce an orderly arrangement. Once produced, this order would be stable if, like the order in our present world, it was self-replicating. How is this relevant to the argument from design? How close is Philo’s hypothesis to Darwin’s theory of natural selection?

5. What conclusion does Philo put forward at the end of this section (p.53)?

6. In Section IX Demea suggests it would be better to rely on the kind of arguments that some theologians have previously given, arguments that are a priori instead of a posteriori – that is, arguments that proceed from reasoning alone without relying on any observations at all. What argument does Demea give (pp.54-55)?

7. Both Cleanthes and Philo reject this type of argument. What is Cleanthes’ objection (pp.55-56)? Why does he think that any such proof would be an absurdity? What is Philo’s objection (pp.56-57)?