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Philosophy ogf the grat kant

1. David Hume (1711-1776) An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding

2. British Empiricist Radical skeptic, empiricist, naturalist Contemporary of Locke, Berkeley, Bacon, Hobbes Major Contributions: Relation of Ideas Problem of Induction and Problem of Causation

3. Outline Sensation & the Origin of Ideas The Nature & Limits of Human Knowledge The Nature & Limits of Inductive Reasoning The Idea that there is a Necessary Connection b etween Cause & Effect The Value & Limitations of Skepticism

4. Sensation & the Origin of Ideas The contents of the mind: (1) ideas & (2) impressions (sensations & feelings) -- Ideas (concepts, beliefs, memories, mental images, etc.) are faint & unclear; impressions are strong & vivid. Ideas are derived from impressions: All [all?] ideas are copies of impressions. The meaning of ideas depends on impressions [ see next slide ].

5. The empirical criterion of meaning & truth "From what impression is that alleged idea derived?" No impression, no meaning? No impression, no foundation in reality?

6. The Nature & Limits of Human Knowledge Two kinds of ideas (or judgments) All the objects of human reason or inquiry may naturally be divided into two kinds: relations of ideas and matters of fact

7. Ideas Judgments concerning relations of ideas Judgments concerning matters of fact

8. Judgments concerning relations of ideas Intuitively or demonstrably certain Discoverable by thought alone [ a priori ] Cannot be denied without contradiction Hume's examples: the Pythagorean Theorem 3 x 5 = 30  2

9. On a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides ( Hypotenuse) 2  = (Base) 2  + (Altitude) 2 . Hypotenuse formula = √((base) 2  + (height) 2 ) (or) c = √(a 2  + b 2 ). The Pythagorean Theorem 5' 4' 3' (hypotenuse) 3 2 + 4 2 = 5 2 (9 + 16 = 25)

10. Judgments concerning matters of fact Every judgment concerning matters of fact can be denied without contradiction" (e.g., "the sun will not rise tomorrow"). Neither intuitively nor demonstrably certain Not discoverable by thought alone [ a priori ], but rather on the basis of sense experience [ a posteriori ] All judgments concerning matters of fact are based on the [more fundamental] belief that there is "a tie or connection" between cause & effect. And why do we believe that there is a "tie or connection" between cause & effect?

11. Continues… The belief arises entirely from experience [ a posteriori , not a priori ], namely, the experience of finding that two events (cause & effect) are "constantly conjoined" with each other. It is not logically necessary that a particular effect follows a particular cause .. I t is just a fact of experience.

12. The Nature & Limits of Inductive Reasoning Induction is the process of drawing inferences from past experiences of cause & effect sequences to present or future events. Hume's point is that an "effect" cannot be validly deduced from its "cause;" the inference from "cause" to "effect" is based on past experiences of "constant conjunction," and these past experiences . . . . to believe that one event is the cause of another, which we believe to be the effect of the prior event. the future will resemble the past. It is all a matter of CUSTOM or HABIT

13. Continues… The Idea that there is a Necessary Connection between Cause & Effect If this is a meaningful (& true?) idea, then (according to Hume) it must be derived from sense impressions. What, then, is the sense impression from which this idea is derived? the spatial contiguity , the temporal succession , and the constant conjunction cause and effect Continues…

14. From Experience especially the experience of constant conjunction , that the idea of a necessary connection between "cause" & "effect" arises (or is inferred); but the "inference" is simply a matter of "custom or habit." This seems to mean that the "inference" here is psycho -logical rather than logical. Actually, there is no experience of the necessary connection between cause and effect. Thus, all factual judgments (which are based on the assumption that there is a necessary connection between cause and effect) are subject to doubt. No necessity, no certainty.

15. Skepticism " Antecedent" skepticism (   a precautionary provision made by the inquirer before the epistemological inquiry) "Consequent" skepticism ( a type of skepticism that questions the grounds for our habitual conclusions and judgments ) Skepticism concerning “mathematical reasoning” (The idea of the infinite divisibility of space results in "absurdities & contradictions" that raise skeptical doubts as to the reliability of mathematics itself.) Extreme skepticism concerning “matters of fact” “Moderate” skepticism {Intellectual humility, theology, ethics & aesthetics, & speculative metaphysics}

16. Reference Books Mashi , Y., A Critical History of Western Philosophy , Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, 1999.