Um estudo dos diálogos sobre a religião natural: as reflexões de Hume acerca dos argumentos que tentam justificar a existência de Deus

Abstract

Hume, in his work Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, presents us with three characters who debate among themselves, above all, regarding the philosophical question of the existence of God and the possibility of demonstrating it through rational arguments. While Demeas argues that it is only through the a priori path that we can demonstrate the existence of God, Cleanthes claims that the a posteriori path is the most appropriate and evident, using the idea of intelligent design as one of his main arguments. Philo, in turn, is the skeptical character in the Dialogues who will counterargue the perspectives of Demeas and Cleanthes, and the work will seek to demonstrate that many of Philo's criticisms actually match Hume's own opinions. The problem surrounding the notion of anthropomorphism will also be explored when the arguments used by Cleanthes are analyzed, with a greater focus on the philosophical conception of intelligent design and also on the hypothesis raised by Cleanthes regarding the natural feelings of human beings – feelings that, apparently and at first glance, would constitute a non-dogmatic alternative to explain the supposed existence of God. In due time, the issues pertaining to deism and fideism will also be elucidated, showing the reasons why Hume could not be interpreted as an adherent of either of these two philosophical perspectives, and also, complementarily, evidencing the reasons why the author cannot be considered a defender of atheism.