“One of the most incomprehensible mysteries of religion”. The problem of evil in Pierre Bayle and David Hume

Abstract

This article aims to examine Pierre Bayle and David Hume’s thoughts about the problem of evil, in order to establish if Hume’s position can be reduced to Bayle’s, or if there are deeper disagreements between them. While Bayle proposed a fideistic answer to it, stating that it is a mystery that is beyond reason and we must adhere to it from our beliefs, Hume confined himself to suspend his judgment about it. First of all, the way in which both authors pose the problem of evil and its consequences in the moral field is reconstructed. Secondly, their criticism of rational theology and the role of skepticism in their thoughts on religion are looked through. The conclusion states that Bayle’s influence on Hume is centered in pointing out the limits of reason to deal with the problem, while Hume’s original contribution resides in the defense of philosophy as an autonomous kind of reflection.