David Hume(1711-1776)
David Hume was born in Edinburgh in 1711. He believed that the most
important task of philosophy is to enquire into the nature of human
understanding to analyse its power and capacity to show that it is not fitted
for traditional metaphysics which attempts to penetrate into realms
inaccessible to the intellect. According to him one must cultivate true
metaphysics which is the science of understanding. All sciences says Hume,
have a relation to human nature. For example the sole aim of logic is to
explain the principles and operations of our reasoning faculties and the
nature of our ideas. Politics studies men as united in society and developed
on each other for him even mathematics, natural philosophy and religion are
the product of powers and faculties of man hence we ought to study human
nature itself. Moral philosophy must be the foundation for other sciences and
must be based on experiences and observation. He attempts this task of
experimental method of reasoning in his ‘Treatise on Human nature’ of which
book 1 treats of understanding ,Book 2 of the passion and book 3 of the
morals.
The main problem with which Hume is occupied are those of the origin
and nature of knowledge. He accepted the empirical theory according to
which all our knowledge have its source in experience. According to Hume all
the materials of our thinking are the world from outward and inward
impressions. Impressions are lively perception when we hear or see or desire,
will or feel. There are the sensations, passions and emotions as they make
their first appearance in the soul. All of our thoughts or ideas are copies of
such impressions. Hence the impressions are more lively perception and the
ideas are the less likely perception. Ideas are faint or feeble perception.
Outward impressions or sensations are as in the soul from unknown
causes, while the inward impressions such as the sentiments and emotions
arise from our ideas ultimately our knowledge is derived from impressions.
Knowledge arises from compounding, transposing augmenting or diminishing
the materials furnished by the senses and experiences. Analysis shows that
every ideas which we examine is copied from the similar impressions when
there are no impressions, there can be no ideas, a blind man can have no
notion of colors.
Skepticism
Hume’s empiricism ended in the denial of things which the common
man accepts asked the most certain facts of knowledge. As to the existence
of an external world Hume argued that the we cannot demonstrate the
independent existence of a world although we continue to believe in it.
Hence rational cosmology is not possible. There is no evidence that these are
caused by external objects or an unknown substance. Apart from the primary
and secondary qualities what remains is only a certain unknown, inexplicable
something as the cause of our impression, as an entity devoid of any
Metaphysics. Therefore in the sense of knowledge of the ultimate reality of
the universe is impossible.
1. Hume’s skepticism is rooted in the idea that human knowledge is
limited to impressions and ideas derived from sensory experience
2. He doubted the validity of causation, arguing that cause-and-effect
relationships are assumptions based on habit, not reason.
3. Hume questioned the principle of induction, stating that there is no
rational basis to infer future events from past experiences.
4. He emphasized that the uniformity of nature, the assumption that the
future will resemble the past, cannot be logically justified.
5. Hume argued that we cannot have certain knowledge of the external
world; our perceptions are merely impressions, not direct access to
reality.
6. He criticized metaphysical and theological claims as being beyond the
scope of human understanding and unsupported by empirical
evidence.
7. Hume viewed the self as a collection of changing perceptions, rejecting
the notion of a permanent, unified identity.
8. He rejected the idea of miracles, arguing that they contradict
established natural laws and rely on unreliable testimony.
9. Hume claimed that human understanding operates through custom
and habit rather than rational deduction or certainty.
10. His skepticism posed a challenge to the foundations of
knowledge, especially in science and philosophy, influencing
subsequent thinkers.
Theory of causation
All our reasoning concerning matters of facts are based on the relation of
cause and effect . We always seek a connection between a present fact and
another. According to Hume, we donot reach a knowledge of this relation by
a prior reasoning. For him , there is no necessary relation between cause and
effect. It is only a psychological necessity. We cannot infer prior to
experience that bread nourishes and fire worms. The effect is totally different
from the cause and can never be discovered in it we cannot demonstrate
that a certain cause must have a certain effect or that it must always have
the same effect. We can conclude from the concept of a triangle that the
sum of its angles is equal to the two right angles. But in the case of the
relation of cause and effect the conception of one does not necessarily imply
that of another. There is no necessary connection between red and
nourishment or between fire and warmth. There is nothing logically,
contradictory in assuming that fire did not warm or bread will not nourish.
Our knowledge of relation of cause and effect is based on observation and
experience. We observe that objects succeed one another, that similar
objects are constantly conjoined, that heat follows flame, that cold follows
snow. Having found in many instances that any two kinds of objects have
always been conjoined . We infer that the objects are casually related, that
one of is the cause of other ie; we are led to expect upon the appearance of
one, the appearance of other. After the constant conjunction of two objects
such as heat and flame, we are determined by custom to expect the one
from the appearance of other. Our experience of the constant conjunction of
objects produces a belief in their connection. This belief is an operation of
the mind, a mere instinct, a feeling.
A cause may accordingly be defined as an object followed by another and
whose appearance conveys the thought of the other. This definition however
doesn’t satisfy from metaphysician. For them a cause is something
productive of another thing ; there is something in the cause by which it is
enable to produce the effect, a secret power, force or energy. According to
the there is a necessary connection between cause and effect, such that if
we know the power we could foresee the effect even without the experience.
But for Hume, we can never discover any power at all. All that we can see is
one event following another. We cannot observe the tie that binds together
volition and bodily movement, not can be experience the energy by which
the mind produces it’s effect. The same in the case with natural e events.
The objects are not necessarily connected but it is the ideas that we
connected in our mind by association.
