...this very gridlock in arguments that I wish to analyze both sides to this question via the use of two highly respected and intellectual philosophers—David Hume and Phaedo from Plato. While Phaedo appears to be on the side that inexplicitly accepts the possibility of miracles, David Hume appears to make a case around reason and common sense that persuasively argues otherwise. According to the philosopher, David Hume, in his An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,...
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...Introduction: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and David Hume (1711-1776) are two of the most influential and remarkable philosophers who have ever lived. Their perspectives on various subjects have certainly left a dent on the topics of literature, history, and philosophy. They were not afraid of turning away from common knowledge, and reinventing certain understandings about the world. Each of these philosophers were known for their new, innovative, and challenging ideas. The topic of causality (the relation between an event and a second event, where the first event is understood to be responsible for the second) was one specifically discussed by both men with great intensity, and their respective opinions shaped the minds of hundreds upon hundreds...
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...Exploring the Epistemology’s of Rene Descartes and David Hume Beginning in the 17th century, traditional ideas were being questioned by the new beginnings of science. Although many of the accomplishments during this “scientific revolution” were in astronomy and mechanics, very important advances along the whole borders of knowledge were also taking place. The revival of skepticism, brought about by these new concepts, had many philosophers seeking answers to questions such as: Do we know anything at all, and do the sciences give us knowledge of reality? Rene Descartes, whom many consider to be the father of modern philosophy, sought to kill skepticism for good. He gave his Cartesian quest for certainty the center stage in his epistemology, or theory of knowledge. Following Descartes, later in the 18th century, David Hume also broke away from the religious dogma of the day to explain knowledge on a non theological basis. However, His epistemology dismisses Cartesian methods as both unworkable and barren. Instead, he adopts his own theories which counters the ideas of his of predecessor, and casts a different view on the levels of certainty humans can The Content and Objects of Knowledge--Rene Descartes According to Descartes, we each contain within ourselves the criterion for truth and knowledge. Although he does not reject the idea of God as a creator, he believed that the responsibility of obtaining knowledge rests on the individual and no longer on...
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...that discusses the theory of mind over matter versus matter over mind. This train of thought also includes the theory of perception versus reality. Idealism came into existence through the study of metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of existence within the mind. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were the most noted times of discussion about idealism (Moore & Bruder, 2011). Idealism argues against other philosophical theories including materialism, realism, rationalism, and skepticism. Idealism’s most common argument is versus the theory of materialism (Lennon, 2008). The argument between idealism and materialism focuses on the two thoughts of mind over matter or matter over mind. There were many philosophers during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who presented their views regarding Idealism. David Hume, George Berkeley. Immanuel Kant and Georg Hegel were very influential philosophers during that time frame. The differences between the ideas of perception and reality were discussed frequently by these philosophers (Walker, 2010). The work of previous philosophers influenced future philosophers. The ideas of each philosopher helped in the advancement of the knowledge to attain what we know today about various topics of interest in the different fields derived from the basis of philosophy. Math, science, medicine, physics are just some of the fields of interest that evolved through the history of philosophy. David Hume’s belief was that nothing is ever...
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...Hume’s Ethics Contents 1. Introduction 2. Hume’s ethics as an emotive theory of ethics 3. Conclusion 4. Bibliography David Hume is an outstanding Scottish philosopher of the 18th century whose views has a significant impact on the following generations of thinkers throughout the world. His sceptical arguments concerning induction, causation and especially religion, including his famous thesis that human knowledge arises only from sense experience and not from rational judgments, shaped the 19th and 20th century empiricist philosophy. His famous saying that ‘reason is the slave of the passions’ is a cornerstone of his ethical views largely explains the emotive character of his ethics. Hume’s ethics as an emotive theory of ethics In his works David Hume paid a lot of attention to ethical and moral problems he wanted to discuss these issues and presented his own particular views. At this respect it is worth to mention his moral theory basically depicted in Book 3 of the Treatise, titled “Of Morals”. The author basically discusses the principle issue of his ethics whether moral distinctions are derived from reason. To put it more precisely David Hume discusses the question concerning whether human moral approval is a rational judgment about conceptual relations and facts or an emotional response. On analysing such a dilemma, Hume arrives to the conclusion that it is rather an emotional response that has little, if has any at all, in common with reason. Moreover, it is necessary...
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...In the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume explains the limits of human understanding against rationalist claims. As an empiricist, the philosophical belief revolves around the fact that all our ideas are not innate, but instead human knowledge stem from experiences and observation. With this understanding, we can determine what limits as human beings we are limited to. By analyzing and comprehending the first couple of sections, Hume establishes causation as central to our understanding of matters of fact. Hume starts off the Enquiry by first distinguishing the origin of ideas: impressions (passions) and thoughts (ideas). Impressions according to Hume is “... all our more lively perceptions… (Hume 8). Since he is an empiricist, knowledge is not inherited. Instead, individuals utilize their five senses to gain experiences...
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...Relations of Ideas and Matters of Fact. Of the first kind are the sciences of Geometry, Algebra, and Arithmetic; and in short, every affirmation which is either intuitively or demonstratively certain. That the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the square of the two sides, is a proposition which expresses a relation between these figures. That three times five is equal to the half of thirty, expresses a relation between these numbers. Propositions of this kind are discoverable by the mere operation of thought, without dependence on what is anywhere existent in the universe. Though there never were a circle or triangle in nature, the truths demonstrated by Euclid would forever retain their certainty and evidence (Hume, Section II). Matters of fact, which are the second objects of human reason, are not ascertained in the same manner; nor is our evidence of their truth, however great, of a like nature with the foregoing. The contrary of every matter of fact is still possible; because it can never imply a contradiction, and is conceived by the mind with the same facility and distinctness, as if ever so conformable to reality. That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction than the affirmation, that it will rise. We should in vain, therefore, attempt to demonstrate its falsehood. Were it demonstratively false, it would imply a contradiction, and could never be distinctly conceived by the mind (Hume, Section IV, Part 1)...
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...Renaissance to Revolution Term Paper Abbas Ali David Hume and the Fallacy (Philosophy) of Religion David Hume is considered the greatest philosopher Britain has produced and an intellectual hero to many atheists. His arguments against religion are clear, incisive and devastating. However, some people have misconstrued his agnosticism to represent faith and claim that while Hume challenged conventional religion, he himself believed in God. In this paper I will attempt to refute some of these claims by briefly highlighting some of Hume’s most compelling arguments against religion and showing how they leave little room for belief. I will also delve into some of the context surrounding Hume’s work to show how speaking against religion was a dangerous game in those times and restricted Hume’s ability to speak freely. Some of the primary sources used for this paper include Hume’s most famous works on religion, including The Natural History of Religion and Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. Secondary and tertiary sources include scholarly critiques of Hume’s texts as well as reviews and journals interpreting his work one way or another. To start with, lets have a look at an excerpt from, The Natural History of Religion, published in 1757. In the following passage, Hume summarizes his views on religion as “sick men’s dreams”: What a noble privilege is it of human reason to attain the knowledge of the supreme Being; and, from the visible works of nature, be enabled to infer...
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...assumption. David Hume was a supporter of skepticism, and was said to make “skeptical attacks” and to “offer positive theories based on natural beliefs”. To me it seems that Hume uses abductive argumentation because of his use of incomplete observations, he questions statements and theories. An example of this would be Hume’s view change multiple times through the years. Hume acknowledges that he discards extreme skepticism (Pyrrhonian Skepticism) but agrees with the moderate form of skepticism (Academic Skepticism), declaring that “no durable good can ever result from it [extreme skepticism]. Nevertheless, Hume recommended Academic Skepticism which tones down Pyrrohonism by utilizing caution and modesty in our decisions along with limiting our assumptions to intellectual reasoning and matters of fact. With Hume’s thoughts of skepticism, he has inclined Immanuel Kant to give his opinions on the matter. Kant states “Hume awoke him from “dogmatic slumber”” and that he was “heavily influenced by the empiricist philosophy of Hume”. Dogmatism, a person who asserts his or her opinion in an overconfident manner, would associate with deductive argumentation from its ability of purpose to expand through simple concepts without critique. They use belief to support their claims. To summarize skepticism in philosophy is not doubting somethings truth but instead is the practice of critical thinking and reasoning. Skepticism holds many different viewpoints two main ones being Hume [skepticism]...
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...rationalist and David Hume an empiricist had vastly different views on where the bulk of individual knowledge is gained. Both had the power of persuasiveness of opinion that could become conceivably believable if while reading their writings, a reader does not keep in perspective that it is their (the writer) belief. Descartes believed in a priori knowledge and that ration and experience would aid a person’s ability in seeking truth. He chose not to rely on senses for fear of trickery. Descartes described himself as “a thing that thinks” (30). Hume, years later did not agree. He believed in a posteriori knowledge that senses are based on past experiences and they are more valuable in mind leading conclusions. Hume asked the question on doubt of ideas, “from what impressions is that supposed idea derived” (41)? While both can have acceptable beliefs, I find Hume’s reasoning more compelling. Animals (people) know nothing without first being exposed to IT. Lack of exposure is likely to leave one behind. With all the acquired knowledge that one may attain, it cannot compare to the knowledge gained through past experience and senses. In other words, walking through the chapters of life is an experience that is priceless. The reason that I believe in Hume and his empiricist view is the fact that to experience is to believe. As Hume’s states, an experience is what leads us through our daily lives. For example, my dog had never eaten table food before. According to Hume she did not...
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...David Hume is a Scottish philosopher, who is well recognized for his efforts on empiricism and skepticism. As a matter of fact, in An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding he focuses on epistemology, which highlights the limitations that knowledge encounters. Hume introduces the problem of induction, which is basically the philosophical issue of examining whether knowledge can be derived from inductive reasoning, and as a result whether it can come from experiences. He evidently discusses the dependability of empirical claims, and consequently of natural sciences also. In this paper, I plan at first to present Hume's problem of induction while explaining what he means by matters of fact and relations of ideas as well as emphasize the...
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...the most influential philosophers in the history of the Christian Church. Augustine spent much of his life trying to solve this ‘problem of evil’ and it proved to be quite an undertaking. This paper will explore the problem of evil and argue how Saint Augustine solidified the ways in which philosophy and religion, specifically Christianity, coincide through his work on the concepts of the problem of and the origin of evil. Understanding the problem of evil is essential to everyone because it affects the manner in which life is lived. Whether defending a belief in God or trying to share those beliefs with others everyone will encounter the problem of evil at some point. According to Ed Miller and Jon Jensen, authors of Questions that Matter: An Invitation to Philosophy, “The presence in the world of evil, both natural and moral, is surely the biggest stumbling block to belief in an all-powerful and all-loving God.” By obtaining the knowledge with how to respond one can be better prepared in defending the manner by which philosophy can coincide with their beliefs. Structurally, this paper will discuss the problem of evil...
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...b) To what extent was Hume successful in his critique of the cosmological argument? [10]Hume makes some very important challenges to the Cosmological argument which some believe count decisively against it. One of the key areas he calls into question is the argument’s dependence upon what Leibniz termed the principle of sufficient reason. In this principle an adequate explanation must be a total explanation. The universe requires an explanation of itself as a whole. But many would say, as Russell later told Copleston: “Then I can only say that you’re looking for something which can’t be got, and which one ought not to expect to get.” If you have explained each individual element of a series any explanation of the series as a whole would seem to be superfluous, and besides he says that ‘the whole’ doesn’t really exist anyway – it is ‘an arbitrary act of mind’ that makes things into wholes. What we term the ‘whole universe’ in modern physics may be only a bubble in a larger reality that we have no way of grasping. Also if we are only entitled to talk about causes when we have had experience of them, then this argument would seem to be over-stretching itself in speculating upon what it cannot know. On the other hand, there is of course a problem with stopping at a certain point and saying that we should seek no further explanation, in that it is a basic presupposition of all scientific work. However, even though a principle of rationality is that we can find an explanation for...
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...David Hume delivers a succession of explanations for why scepticism should be expressed any conclusion based upon reasoning reliant on sensory perception (Hume, 1898). Hume’s “A Treatise of Human Nature” ultimately reaches a conclusion unfathomable to those who bank on logic explaining everything. Indeed, Hume insists that when forced into a face-to-face confrontation all the logical explanations capable of being processed that many if not most humans are still capable of stubbornly clinging to even the most incomprehensibly illogical beliefs. Knowing that the earth has been steadily warming over the past few decades based on the logical connections reached as a result of combining statistic data with incontrovertible geographical evidence is not capable of producing actual knowledge of this fact for some because the accumulation of such evidence creates an untenable conflict with their most cherished beliefs. Judgment of climate change denial from the perspective of whether a single way of knowing carries the capacity for producing knowledge has the unintended effect of undermining the argument for scepticism and leads to one fundamental question: at what point does scientific scepticism become unschooled ignorance? The man who has been referred to as the “Medieval Hume” is Nicolaus of Autrecourt; so-called because of ultimately conclusion that nothing satisfactorily logical can be purchased solely through perception (Copleston, 1993). The philosophical foundation of Nicolas...
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...grammar Needs Improvement (≤ 1 point) Satisfactory (≤ 2 points) Good (≤ 3 points) Score Content (6 points) Correctness of details Inadequate (≤ 1 points) Good (≤ 2 point) Excellent (≤ 3 points) Completeness of idea Inadequate (≤ 1 points) Good (≤ 2 point) Excellent (≤ 3 points) Score TOTAL /12 Beauty objective or subjective The nature of beauty is one of the most controversial and complex themes in Western philosophy. Beauty has been among the ultimate values, with goodness, truth, and justice. “It is a major subject among different philosophers such as the ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and medieval, and was central to 18th and 19th-century thought, as represented in treatments by such thinkers as Hutcheson, Hume, Kant; Hegel, and Santayana.” Different philosophical issues concerned the objectivity and subjectivity of beauty. In other words, philosophers argued whether is beauty a property of some objects (like mass, shape, etc.) or is beauty a judgment of the mind observing the object (an emotion, feeling or evaluation). Subjective theory of beauty existed primary in the Antiquity and the middle Ages, while the modern period retained the objective theory for a long time. In this essay, we will get insights of both subjectivist and objectivist accounts. According to philosophers, “Objective is something that can be known, which exists as part of reality, independent of thought or an observer. While subjective exists in the mind; belonging to the...
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