The Possibility of Religious Knowledge in al-Ghazzali and David Hume's Theory of Knowledge

This paper compares the possibility of religious knowledge in the theory of knowledge of al-Ghazzali and David Hume. The purpose of the article is that basing these philosophers' religious knowledge in their theory of knowledge. According to al-Ghazzali, it can be used one of the three ways in a theory of knowledge, for a basis of religious belief. First is basing religious beliefs by relying on reports of the prophets without making a rational inquiry. Second is basing religious beliefs by knowledge, which is gained by reasoning. Third is spiritual intuition obtained by religious practice. David Hume argued that believing reports of the prophets relies on miracles that are not that a reliable source of information. He also argued that religious beliefs cannot rely on reasoning method. According to him doing such a thing is beyond the limits of the powers of reason. Also, it is impossible to rely religious belief on spiritual intuition in Hume's theory of knowledge. Because, human being doesn't have spirit in this meaning. According to him, roots of religious belief in human nature is based on some feelings. These feelings are like such as fear and hope, which humans feel against unknown natural events.