...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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...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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...idea of Determinism is explored by many philosophers in the construction of arguments against free-will, morality, and liberty. Determinism is a philosophy that claims that all things are causally related to each other and there is a necessity behind every event that occurs and while 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...
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...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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...Philosophy Idealism The study of philosophy idealism is an interesting subject that contains views from different philosophers. It begins with the thought 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...
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...Stanford University Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Open access to the SEP is made possible by a world-wide funding initiative. Please Read How You Can Help Keep the Encyclopedia Free Author & Citation Info | Friends PDF Preview | InPho Search | PhilPapers Bibliography Kant and Hume on Morality First published Wed Mar 26, 2008; substantive revision Sun Aug 12, 2012 The ethics of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is often contrasted with that of David Hume (1711–1776). Hume's method of moral philosophy is experimental and empirical; Kant emphasizes the necessity of grounding morality in a priori principles. Hume says that reason is properly a “slave to the passions,” while Kant bases morality in his conception of a reason that is practical in itself. Hume identifies such feelings as benevolence and generosity as proper moral motivations; Kant sees the motive of duty—a motive that Hume usually views as a second best or fall back motive—as uniquely expressing an agent's commitment to morality and thus as conveying a special moral worth to actions. Although there are many points at which Kant's and Hume's ethics stand in opposition to each other, there are also important connections between the two. Kant shared some important assumptions about morality and motivation with Hume, and had, early in his career, been attracted to and influenced by the sentimentalism of Hume and other British moralists. The aim of this essay is not to compare Hume and Kant on all matters ethical. Instead...
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...Chinese Philosophy is a book by Bryan W. Van Norden that presents an encompassing view of Confucianism in light of virtue ethics and of Mohism in light of consequentialism. Throughout the book, Van Norden makes excellent and understandable bridges to compare the philosophies of the East and the West. He takes the perspectives presented by Aristotle’s virtue ethics and other western philosophers and contrasts them with the conceptions that Confucianism offers towards leading a virtuous life and the process of the ethical cultivation of one's self, as well as drawing analogues between Mohism and consequentialism through obviously thorough archaeological and philosophical research into Chinese history....
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...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 to underline that T.Z. Lavine in her discussion of Hume’s philosophy points out that according to...
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...This essay seeks to define why the Scottish Enlightenment theorists rejected previous attempts at social theory and instead formulated their own social theory. It also seeks to define what was scientific about their approach compared to other theorists who formulated other social theories. Firstly the enlightenment will be defined and previous attempts at social theory outlined. Secondly the theorists social theory will be outlined and finally a discussion of why their approach could be considered scientific. This essay will argue that it was the theorists’ departure from conjecture and sermon which made their theory so radical for its time, and their application of the new framework of Newtonian science which allowed their application to be considered scientific. The enlightenment was a period of philosophical thought and intellectual development which began in the eighteenth century (Ritzer, 2010). The enlightenment theorists sought to combine empirical research with the developing model of Newtonian science. The theorists were convinced that the world around them could be understood using reason and research and that the institutions which governed social values and societal norms were rooted in irrationality and actually acted to inhibit human development (Ritzer, 2010). The theorist’s arguments clashed with the conjectural and traditionally espoused history of the social institutions such as the Church and the political regimes of the countries they operated in (Broadie...
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...Lowell Philosophy Department Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 45. 201.201/02S Spring 2013 Syllabusi Conference Time and Location Tu & Th 3:30-4:45PM Class meet at SOU 403 NC Instructor: Andrés Paniagua andres_paniagua@uml.edu Office Hours T&R 3:00-3:25PM & W. 6:00-6:25 Office TBD Course Description. The practice and study of philosophy constitute one of the most distinctive strands of Western intellectual tradition. In order to understand-even simply recognize-the deepest assumptions we make as a culture we must turn to philosophy and to those thinkers whose ideas have shaped our assumptions. We will approach the study of philosophy as a conversation among the greatest thinkers of all the time, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre. Our focus will be on each philosopher’s ideas and their impact on Western Civilization. We will also delve briefly into the cultural and historical context of each philosopher, evaluate weather their ideas are still relevant and some of their argument remain compelling. Course outline. The approach of this class is hybrid. The first part following an historical and chronological sequence, the second part follows a topical approach. Part I (a), Ancient philosophy, with our main focus on Plato and Aristotle. Part 1 (b) Late Renaissance and to Kant. Part II Empiricism and Positivism and part II (b) Existentialism. We will wrap the class pointing to some recent issues in philosophy: Postmodernism...
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...Dictionary defines Philosophy as: the study of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life, etc. A Little History of Philosophy discusses questions, which intrigued humanity from the beginning of time. Those questions include, “How should we live our lives?”, “What is reality?”, and “Whether or not God exists?”. These timeless ideas are discussed in depth throughout the chapters of Warburton’s A Little History of Philosophy. The discussions are kept brief, as he introduces readers to the philosophical reasoning, from the ancient Socrates to the more contemporary philosophers such as Peter Singer. As we journey through the chapters, we contemplate; we formulate new ideas and plant the seeds of inquiry. These...
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...Deontology is dominantly built on the notion of duty, which is central in determining a set of principles and rules based on moral law derived from reason. Nagel draws heavily upon the constricting nature of the deontological system, operating under “personal demands governing one’s relations with others” rather than “impersonal claims derived from the interest of others” (Nagel, “Ethics” in The View From Nowhere, 1986, Page 176). This form of thinking challenges Hume by creating boundaries by which moral laws should be followed and displace human impulses “which opposes our passion” (Hume, “A Treatise of Human Nature,”1896, Page 217). This allows moral choices to be made as an object of “common moral intuition” (Nagel, “Ethics” in The View...
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...What makes the public sphere distinct from the private sphere? The public sphere concept was developed since the times of the Aristotle. He sees the public sphere as the social and political space in which citizens come together to discus the issues of public concerns to form civic opinions. However, this concept changed in time and nowadays is seen as the space “where free and equal citizens come together to share information, to debate, to discuss, or to deliberate on common concerns”.[1] Public sphere is made distinct from the private sphere through the existence of public opinion and the fact that is has developed the public use of reason. Through its constitutive elements such as the constitutional civil liberties the access at public information the existence of a free, plural, and independent media system not under the state control make the private sphere indeed peculiar. Also the existence of civil societies which organize and promote the citizen agenda makes the public sphere dissimilar. In order to make a clear distinction between what makes the public sphere distinct from the private sphere I will have a close look at how the principle developed from the feudal system until the democratic system nowadays. A close analysis at the philosophers’ theories and the principles which intervenes with public sphere is helpful. Also its characteristics will be outlined in order to draw a line between the public and the private sphere. One characteristic and a product...
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...EVALUATION Written communication (6 points) Organization Needs Improvement (≤ 1 point) Satisfactory (≤ 2 point) Good (≤ 3 points) Mechanics and 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...
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...examine our own experiences, we never observe anything past a progression of transient feelings, sensations, and impressions. We can't observe ourselves, or what we are, unifiedly. There is no impression of the self that ties our specific impressions together. At the end of the day, we can never be specifically mindful of ourselves, just of what we are experiencing at any given minute. In spite of the fact that the relations between our ideas, feelings, et cetera, may be followed through time by memory, there is no genuine evidence of any center that join them. This contention additionally applies to the spirit's concept. Hume suggests that the self is only a heap of perceptions, similar to connections in a chain. To search for a binding together self past those perceptions is similar to searching for a chain separated from the connections that constitute it. Hume contends that our concept of the self is an aftereffect of our natural propensity for crediting brought together existence to any gathering of related parts. This belief is natural; however there is no sensible backing for...
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