Hume ’s view of what constitutes personal identity rests heavily upon his preceding theories concerning the nature of ideas and causation. The most important preceding ideas to take into account are the rejection of causality and necessary connection and his strict empiric stance on the basis of knowledge and the only two types of perception being ideas that are reliant on initial impressions. There will clearly be difficulty in defining and explaining ’the self ’ when both the notions of causality
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Descartes’ "Wax Passage" Later in his second meditation‚ as Descartes begins to doubt his own conclusion that he exists as a thinking thing‚ he goes into an elaborate analogy known as his "wax passage". Comparing the wax to his knowledge of himself‚ he begins by discussing the physical characteristics which can be known by means of the senses. However‚ the importance lies in the fact that by heating‚ the wax can be altered and the sensible properties are no longer the same. He then goes on to
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Thereupon‚ Hume made the suggestion that we as humans have the ability to possess knowledge of the “matters of fact” concerning objects that we have never seen or experienced before through a process which we have known as “cause and effect”. My knowledge that my friend is in France might have been caused by a letter to that effect‚ and my knowledge that the sun will rise tomorrow is inferred from past experience‚ which tells me that the sun has risen every day in the past.Hume then asks how we know
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Explain Hume’s views on miracles. Hume believed we establish cause and effect relationships based on our experience of this world which leads us to make predictions about what will happen in similar cases in the future. To Hume a miracle is a transgression of the laws of nature caused by God or by some form of invisible agent. He uses a priori reasoning supporting this with a number of sub-arguments designed to discredit testimonies regarding miracles. He argued that miracles cannot exist
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This paper focuses on the ideas of David Hume and his work concerning cause and effect. Firstly‚ I am going to explain impressions and ideas and how Hume concludes that we cannot have the idea of power. Secondly‚ I am going to explain why Hume declares that there is a perception necessary connection between events. Thirdly‚ I will explain Hume’s definitions of causation and the conclusion he cones up with that states that cause is the conjunction that reinforces our ideas. Lastly‚ I will raise two
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For throughout the centuries‚ scholars have addressed whether information exists and on the off chance that we know anything at all thinkers characterize learning as a conviction which is in concurrence with the actualities we can know are those which are testable and that learning must be gathered by a solid means‚ for example‚ science. Something else‚ our "insight" is simply conviction. While it appeared glaringly evident to me that the wellspring of learning was nature or the universe‚ I have
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What is dualism? What is the essence of the Res Cogitans? Explain in detail how Descartes discovered this essence. Explain the “piece of wax argument.” What does the “wax argument” prove? How does Descartes prove that corporeal substance exists and that the mind is separate and distinct from the body? * Do you find his argument convincing? Why or why not? Give reasons for your answer. (*Be sure to discuss‚ God‚ the distinction between types of ideas‚ and the distinction between the two substances
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Necessity”‚ Hume wants to discuss what liberty and necessity mean and whether or not they can be compatible with each other. This is all really a discussion of Hume’s view of free will and determinism‚ and how they can be easily reconciled through compatibilism where for example both liberty and necessity are required for morality. He starts off by considering the idea of necessity and defines it as‚ “the constant conjunction of similar objects‚ and the consequent inference from one to another” (Hume 150)
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According to Hume‚ there are two types of beliefs‚ relations of ideas and matters of facts. Relations of ideas are indisputable. Such as a widow is a woman whose husband died. Such thoughts are usually definitions. Since it is impossible for a Widow to be anything other then the definition‚ these ideas are indisputable. Matters of facts claim that if the opposite is imaginable‚ then it is possible. Matters of fact are debatable‚ such as the belief in a God or that the world will end. While it is
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In this paper I will be contrasting the moral philosophies of David Hume and Immanuel Kant. Although I will be discussing several ideas from each philosopher the main theme of my paper will be dealing with the source of morality. It is my opinion that Hume’s sentiment based‚ empirical method is more practical than the reason based‚ a priori theory of Kant. According to Kant moral law must be known a priori‚ and must be able to be universally applied to all beings. Kant asserts that empirical explanations
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