This is an in depth A-Level Philosophy and Ethics 10 mark exam question on Realist and Anti-Realist views on miracles linking with a real life case examples and philosopher opinions which I received full marks on.
Explain Realist and Anti-Realist interpretations of miracles (10)
Miracles can be defined from two perspectives. Realist and Anti-Realist. A Realist perspective is the best
scientific theory that gives us true descriptions of the world. These theories also give us a description of
things that we believe to exist, but which cannot be observed. The world is mind- independent meaning
that the world exists and is the way it is, regardless of what we think.
There are various ways of viewing realist interpretations of miracles. The first being miracles as an
extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature. This means a miracle out of the ordinary. An example is
the story of Juliane Koepcke. Juliane and her mother were on a flight to Panguana on christmas eve
1971. They were flying over the Peruvian rainforest when the plane was hit by lightning. The plane
crashed and she was the only survivor. She survived 11 days alone in the forest before she was rescued.
This is a realist interpretation because God specifically only chose her to survive the plane crash and she
was the only sole survivor.
Secondly realists view miracles as real events brought about by God working through people an example
is a miracle of Moses in the book of exodus. Moses parted the Red Sea in the Bible to help the Israelites
escape from slavery in Egypt. Moses holds out his staff and God parts the waters of the Red Sea. The
Israelites walk through on the dry ground and cross the sea, followed by the Egyptian army. Once the
Israelites have safely crossed, Moses lifts his arms again, the sea closes, and the Egyptians are drowned.
This is a realist interpretation because Christan's see this story as literally true.
Hume, although he rejected miracles, took a realist perspective because he defined miracles as a
transgression of a law of natrre by a particular volition. (lack of will), and by the deity (God) or by the
interposition of some invisible agent. This means that belief in miracles is impossible. He also stated that
the evidence against miracles is weaker than the evidence for it, and people tend to believe in the
unimaginable to promote their religion/beliefs.
Although he did not believe in God, John Makie took a realist perspective on miracles as he said that, if
miracles did happen, they would be an intervention into the closed system. This is because the universe
operates according to the natural law. This is realist because if a miracle were to take place, it would be
out of the ordinary and it would break the cycle of natural law.
On the other hand, some philosophers take an anti-realist approach to miracles. This means that,
miracles are the interpretation of the mind. People who are anti-realist deny the realist position. An
example is the duck/rabbit illusion. If one looks closely at the image, they see only what they want to
see and what their mind tells them. Some may see a rabbit, whereas some may see a duck with a long
beak.
Tillich was an anti-realist who defined miracles as ‘sign events. This means that miracles give us a sign or
message. He also suggested that people have different perspectives on the same miracle. Ie, someone
might see it as a miracle, but others may not. His view is anti-real because he does not see miracles as
literally real. they are interpretations, signs, or symbols.
RF Holland also took an anti- real perspective. He gave the example of a young child on the tracks. The
boy plays with his toy vehicle, but he strays onto the train tracks. The train comes and stops just in times
to save the boy's life. The reason the train stopped was because the train driver had fainted due to a
high blood pressure, he suggested that the reason this event was miraculous was because the mother is
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