[SydPhil] MQ Philosophy Seminar on Tuesday the 20th of March in Blackshield Room: Dejan Simkovic (Notre Dame)

[Michael Olson]

Can Epistemically Virtuous Agents Be Monotheists?

Dejan Simkovic (University of Notre Dame)

Date: Tuesday, 20th of March
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Venue: Blackshield Room, W3A (6 First Walk) 501 *
All welcome

*Note the changing venues this semester

Abstract: Hume is one of the great advocates of scepticism, and his sceptical arguments, together with his critique of the accepted views of the time, have challenged our epistemic standpoint in various spheres of life, including religion. In the Natural History of Religion (NHR) for example, Hume claims that the suspension of religious (monotheistic) judgment is not only possible but also necessary. This negative aspect of Hume’s work was, in the eyes of the intellectual public of Hume’s time, a clear indication of Hume’s subversive and destructive intentions. In this paper, I wish to depart from this negative view on Hume’s approach to religion by revealing a long-neglected aspect of Hume’s discussion of monotheism in NHR: namely, that Hume attacked neither religion in general nor monotheism specifically in that book but argued that monotheism as the best available rational articulation of theism can be corrupted and sink into dogmatism and superstition. I also try to show that Hume has hereby established the distinction between what I will call the genuine and dogmatic versions of monotheism. Hume simultaneously articulates the criteria for assessment of the credibility of monotheistic agency in all three of its aspects – religious, epistemic, and moral – which, as I will argue, contains a subtle distinction between two types of monotheists: the epistemically and morally virtuous monotheist who is useful to society, and the opposite, the vicious monotheist who is a threat to society. This argument is useful, since it allows us to obtain better insight into sections 10 through 15 and offer a novel interpretation of the concluding passage of NHR. It is not necessarily the case in that work that Hume is suggesting the suspension of all religious judgments or beliefs is necessary; it could be, and I will argue that we have reason to believe that it is, the case that Hume is suggesting that the suspension of some religious judgments is necessary, with the dogmatic religious judgments being the relevant kind. This is important because it implies that the genuine monotheist, who is epistemically and morally virtuous, can join Hume in “the calm, tho’ obscure, regions of philosophy” (NHR 15.13, 505) without being accused of insincerity, inconsistency or contradiction.

Contact: Adam Hochman (adam.hochman at mq.edu.au<mailto:adam.hochman at mq.edu.au>) or Mike Olson (michael.olson at mq.edu.au<mailto:michael.olson at mq.edu.au>)

A google calendar with details of other events in this series is available here<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/WdjGC1WZXriLLl9gcL4awP?domain=michael-olson.com>.

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Dr Michael Olson
Lecturer, Modern European Philosophy

Department of Philosophy  |   2nd Floor, Australian Hearing Hub
Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia

T: +61 2 9850 6895<tel:%2B61%202%209850%206895>  |  arts.mq.edu.au<http://arts.mq.edu.au/>  |  www.michael-olson.com<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/1ickC2xZYvC00g9rC1GKVp?domain=michael-olson.com>


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---

Dr Michael Olson
Lecturer, Modern European Philosophy

Department of Philosophy
Level 2, The Australian Hearing Hub
16 University Avenue
Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia

T: +61 2 9850 6895<tel:%2B61%202%209850%206895>  |  arts.mq.edu.au<http://arts.mq.edu.au/> |  www.michael-olson.com<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/1ickC2xZYvC00g9rC1GKVp?domain=michael-olson.com>


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