INDUCTIVE REASONING
One flaw with inductive reasoning is the Problem of Induction, expressed by David Hume. This is the problem that an inductive conclusion can always be overturned by a later experience.
A famous example is the experience of swans being white. Inductive reasoning tells us, based on seeing only white swans, that all swans are white. However, if we one day see a black swan, the inductive conclusion is shown to be incorrect. This suggests that, no matter how much evidence for religious experience you could collect, the next evidence could utterly disprove it. |
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YES
Religious belief is supposed to be about certainty, not probability. Jesus talked about faith moving mountains. The great saints and religious reformers didn't think that God "probably existed": they knew God existed. They staked their life on God and believed in him with total conviction. The inductive argument is irrelevant for religious faith.
Inductive reasoning is based on generalising from the things you experience in this world to wider conclusions about the world we live in. But induction doesn't tell us about things that are beyond or outside of this world - things that are metaphysical rather than physical. Drawing metaphysical conclusions from physical evidence goes beyond what induction can ever tell us.
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NO
The inductive argument leaves room for doubt, which is important for reasonable faith. Only fanatics and bigots believe with total certainty. Reasonable people have doubts about things. The inductive argument reassures believers that their faith is reasonable but it leaves a place for questioning and mystery in life.
The problem of induction isn't just a problem for religious experiences - it's a problem for science too. All scientific research is inductive reasoning and some of it draws metaphysical conclusions (such as speculating about the Big Bang or multiple universes). Hume himself admits that we should trust induction even if, philosophically, it offers us no certainty. It would be irrational to trust induction with science but not with anything else.
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