...David Hume “Hume is our Politics, Hume is our Trade, Hume is our Philosophy, Hume is our Religion.” philosopher James Hutchison Stirling Biographical Information * He was born in 1711 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and died in 1776 * Was born in upper middle class family, his father died when David still a child, his mother, Katherine Falconer, who was from a family of lawyers, David never married * Main interests: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Mind, Ethics, Politics, Aesthetics, Religion * Hume as the third and most radical of the British Empiricists, after the English John Locke and the Arish George Berkeley. * 1723 (age of 12) After an early education at home enters Edinburg University where he begins the study of law, three years later turns from the study of law to pursue an intense independent study of his own devising. * In 1752 was employment as librarian of the Advocate’s Library in Edinburgh * n 1763, Hume accepted as a private secretary for Lord Hertford, the Ambassador to France, * He thought this science should be based on “experience and observation”. (Spiegel 206) * Between (1744-1745), Hume was a candidate for the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, but was rejected mostly due to the protest concerning his anti-religious writings * He wrote profoundly influential works on epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of religion, and was also published on politics, economics and history. * Hume also...
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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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...Determinism as a term wasn’t coined as a term until the 19th century, David Hume explored these major concepts in his Enquiry, delving into the roots of humanity and questioning the truth of human freedom.1 In particular his exploration into human understanding leads him to conclude that there is no effect without a cause and liberty when opposed to necessity cannot universally exist.2 Hume’s discovery, the Causal Maxim, and is generally accepted among philosophers, though it is not enough in and of itself to prove that he fits the mold of a determinist. However, by delving further into his various arguments, I will prove that Hume’s philosophy, mainly the denial of induction and support of causation, follows the discreet specifications of Determinism. Essential to the understanding of Hume’s philosophy is his idea of the universal necessity of connection between cause and effect, though he aptly admits that this connection is unobservable and denies that humans can ever have a true understanding of cause and effect.3 To explain such a broad claim Hume addresses a situation in which causality could prove troublesome by illustrating that God, through an immense causality chain, could be the true author of crime and immorality. This approach at explaining the connection between human criminality and God is deterministic, though Hume quickly halts this explication by admitting that it is outside of the bounds of human reason to understand the will of God.4 Regardless of the incompletion...
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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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...David Hume David Hume Cornelia Roberts-Pryce Cornelroberts@yahoo.com Content David Hume Abstract TCO 4 -Given the intellectual climate of post-WWI Europe, analyze the emergence of the philosophies of existentialism and logical positivism based upon the principles of modern humanism According to lecture 1, the Enlightenment was characterized by a questioning of current beliefs (including religious belief) and customs and a turn towards the benefits of science. People today think that democracy is a direct outgrowth of Enlightenment thinking but Hume, Locke, Voltaire, and others did not think that the general public was able to reason and that it could or should not be educated (Stromberg, 1994). Introduction The purpose of this paper is to discuss the contributions of David Hume (1711-76) to the period of history during the enlightenment age developing theories of the doctrine of Empiricism. There are two doctrines which follow this principle. The first doctrine is that most, if not all, concepts are ultimately derived from experience; the second is that most, if not all, knowledge derives from experience, in the sense that appeals to experience are necessarily involved in its justification. Neither doctrine implies the other. Hume belongs to the tradition of British empiricism that includes Francis Bacon (1561-1626), John Locke (1632-1704), and George Berkeley (1685-1753). Common to this tradition is the view that knowledge is founded...
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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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...Hume on Custom and Habit In Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, he claims that it is not reason, but experience which guides and is the basis for most of our beliefs, or matters of fact. What the cause is for this, is the question he ultimately tackles in order to gain an understanding of the human nature of the connection of experience and existence. When discussing how our mind forms connections between various thought, he states that “method and regularity” act to enforce a regular chain of ideas that also serve to relate to memory and imagination (p.14). When this regular chain is broken in upon by some irregular thought, it is quickly noticed. From this, he gathers that because of the regularity that occurs in the thought process, a universal principle exists to bring together ideas in such a comprehensible fashion. These principles of association, as he calls them, are Resemblance, Contiguity, and Cause and Effect. To prove that these three principles hold to connect all possible forms of ideas, he suggests that if all situations are rendered to as general a form as possible, principles of association will apply alone or in some combination in all cases. For our purposes, cause and effect is the most relevant principle which may cast light on Hume’s statement that “Custom, then, is the great guide of human life. It is that principle alone, which renders our experience useful to us,” (p.29). Before entertaining the suggestion that customs are in fact an important...
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...In Hume’s “Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,” Hume presents the “problem of induction.” This problem revolves around the causal relationships and their impossibility. He states that causes and effects are independent events, thus we cannot use past experiences to infer future events. His solution to this problem is that we see cause and effect relationships merely because humans are creatures of habit. While Hume proves an interesting point, the assumption that we are creatures of habit, makes our understanding of the world confusing. “Habit” is not a satisfactory answer because it leaves doors open to our understanding of how the world works. The problem of induction stems from the conflict between a priori reasoning and matters...
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...In David Hume's An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, the question of power and necessary connection is brought up with correlation to cause and effect. Hume's overall argument is while humans assume events are connected by causation, they cannot be sure as they do not consciously understand the operations which took place to create the effect. Hume begins by arguing one can never discover any power or necessary connection binding the effect of an event to its cause, meaning it is impossible for one event to always have the same effect on every occurrence (7.I.6). Consequently, no single instance could suggest the idea of necessary connection; that is to say, the cause and the effect must be connected, and may not be unrelated under any circumstances (7.I.6). Hume cites the union of the mind and body, how man believes to have an understanding of the command of will, and how we use it to control our organs (7.I.9). However, Hume presents problems with this statement: How people do not have an understanding of neurotransmissions, muscle tissue, and how they move limbs (7.I.14), and questions why we are able to control our limbs but not our internal organs (7.I.12). Hume argues while we believe to be conscious of the willpower in our minds, we do not, as this force...
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...David Hume was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a proud family of moderate means. He was educated in Britain, and moved to France at age 23 to write his first novel. He hoped the book would sell well, inspire a generation of new thought, and make him rich. It was titled A Treatise of Human Nature, and Hume had difficulty finding a publisher who would print the manuscript. As with many geniuses, Hume encountered much discouragement before his ideas were accepted. When the Treatise finally appeared in 1738, it "fell dead-born from the press" (in Hume's own words). Not only was the book a terrible seller, it failed even to achieve Hume's goal of challenging traditional thought. The religious zealots who were supposed to have been so offended by his ideas had never even heard of them. Hume eventually re-published his Treatise in the form of two Enquiries, An Enquiry Concerning the Human Understanding (1748) and An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). These helped spread his ideas and fame, although it is the republished and complete Treatise that I will focus on. The system of ideas outlined therein, with an included essay specifically on Self, will be enough to explore Hume's thoughts on the subject. Hume's theory of knowledge taught that "accurate and just reasoning...is alone able to subvert that abstruse philosophy and metaphysical jargon, which, being mixed up with popular superstition, renders it in a manner impenetrable to careless reasoners, and gives it the...
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...knowledge can be acquired and considers its limits and validity. Rationalism and empiricism are distinct epistemological schools of thought. Among others, they differ significantly regarding the source of concepts and ideas. Prominent rationalists, including Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, argue that one must rely on reason as a purely deductive process to attain justified truths about reality (Cottingham 1988). In contrast, empiricists, including Locke, Berkeley and Hume, argue that knowledge is derived from the role of experience and sense data to formulate ideas. The question of what is the ideal foundation of knowledge is still debatable to date. I will argue that the rationalist vs. empiricist distinction is not exhaustive, and that carefully considering the approach-discipline relationship is crucial. In order to support this claim, this essay will discuss differences between rationalism and empiricism. Next, it will closely examine the advantages of each, drawing on the works of René Descartes and David Hume. Finally, this essay will identify problems with both theories and argue that reason and experience can together generate factual knowledge with respect to the subject matter. The major difference between rationalism and empiricism concerns their knowledge basis. Francis Bacon has articulated this distinction in stating that "empiricists are like ants; they collect and put to use; but rationalists are like spiders; they spin threads out of themselves" (Cottingham 1988...
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...intentions. From this perspective, it is not unusual to view Hume's views on religion in terms of the skepticism and naturalism that features prominently in his Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), his first and most ambitious philosophical work. According to the account that is now widely accepted in the scholarly literature, Hume removed almost all the material in the Treatise that was concerned with religion because he was anxious to avoid causing any “offence” among the orthodox. In his later works, beginning with an Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), Hume began to present his views on this subject in a more substantial and direct manner. This culminates in his Natural History of Religion (1757) and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779; published posthumously) – both of which are entirely taken up with philosophical issues in religion. The linkage between these various works, on this account, is that the later writings on religion are simply an extension and application of the sceptical and naturalistic principles that Hume developed in his earlier writings. While it is certainly true that there is an intimate connection between Hume's scepticism and naturalism and his irreligious objectives and orientation, it is not evident that this relationship should be understood in terms of Hume drawing irreligious consequences in his later work from the sceptical and naturalistic principles that he laid down in his earlier work. There is a more intimate connection...
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...For Wallace, the crux of education “means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.” (p.3) In “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” John Locke, explains the conscious mind and holds that, at birth, the mind is a blank slate or tabula rasa and that all ideas are shaped by experience and sense data, “For our simple ideas, then, which are the foundation, and sole matter of all our notions and knowledge, we must depend wholly on our reason, I mean our natural faculties.” (p.417) In “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,” David Hume calls upon experience and observation as the ultimate standard of evidence, “It is experience only, which gives authority to human testimony; and it is the same experience, which assures us of the laws of nature.” (p.11) While Locke and...
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...Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals Section I Of the General Principles of Morals Overview: In this section Hume focuses on the contributions that moral sense and reason make in moral judgments that we make every day. He argues that moral sense is the tool that enables us to make the distinction between vice and virtue but both moral sense and reason contribute to the formation of our moral judgments. Reason becomes very useful when a judgment needs to be made weather something is useful or not. Basically reason enables us to determine how and why something is useful to us or others. Further in the section Hume talks about what moral judges tend to include in their lists of virtues, what is left out and how those lists are being created. Towards the end of the section he goes back to the classification of virtues he proposed in the Treatise of Human Nature. p. 169, 133 – All humans are obviously very different and same concept applies to our morality. Hume explains it by the example of a stubborn person who likes to argue just to “show off”. He concludes that the only way for such person to realize that he/she is an antagonist of the group is by leaving him/her alone. Through observation or experience the given individual will realize that in general more people are on the common sense and reason side. p. 170, 134 – Here Hume starts to discuss the “foundation of morals”. He refers to ancient philosophers and points...
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...The Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Hume states that we can not have an impression of a necessary connection in the experience of causation. Before being able to discuss this point directly, Hume informs the readers about terms he later uses in his reasoning. This reading begins with Hume explaining the difference between impressions and ideas. He claims that ideas are thoughts or memories or beliefs related to impressions, whereas impressions are emotions and other mental phenomena. For example, lets say that we are holding a marker. We think that we know what the marker is, as we have become very familiar with it through experience. However, we do not have the idea of the marker itself. Rather, we posses the impression we have of the idea of the marker, which has been made through our experience. So, when we are perceiving the marker, we are actually perceiving ourselves and our impressions. Then, Hume explains relations of ideas and matters of fact. Relations of ideas typically refer to mathematical truths, which are definite facts. Therefore, when someone denies them, a contradiction...
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