The problem of induction arises from Hume's belief that propositions fall into one of two categories, relations of ideas and matters of fact. ... Hume goes on to say that this is a natural instinct, when speaking of this Hume says "these operations are a species of natural instincts, which no reasoning or process of the thought and understanding is able, either to produce, or to prevent". ... It is the problem of how we can justify these beliefs given that in Hume's view there is no rational way of doing that due to the belief that nature isn't a constant. It was his view that a...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Hume did not believe that a priori, knowledge based on reasoning can deduce true knowledge. Knowledge based on reasoning alone, according to Hume does not provide understanding of the real world. ... So, according to Hume, a priori reasoning does not offer any understanding of the real world, because they cannot be traced to the impressions that first created them. ... Hume concludes that our beliefs can never be rationally justified, but must be acknowledged to rest only upon our acquired habits. In similar fashion, Hume argued that we cannot justify our natural beliefs in the reality of the...

• Word Count: 1002
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Then, digging deeper, we shall try our hand at a critique of his critique of religion, of resurrecting a natural belief in God. ... What Hume seeks to show is the failure of this argument to establish the type of deity that belief in a particular providence or divine action must require one to assert. ... Causes are to be known from effects alone; to ascribe to it any superfluous qualities goes beyond the bounds of strict logical reasoning. ... Hume countered this thinking because it constructed belief and certainty out of mere possibility. ... No one character fully presents the force of Hume...

• Word Count: 4391
• Approx Pages: 18
• Has Bibliography

By first laying out the ideas of Hume and then Kant, to be in chronological order, I hope to gain a fuller knowledge as to the similarities and differences of each philosopher's beliefs. ... In order to go beyond the objects of human reason, Hume proposed that reasoning was based upon cause and effect. ... Now Hume proposed that all inferences come from custom, not reasoning. ... All inferences from experience, therefore, are effects of custom, not reasoning. ... Therefore, our belief in necessary connections of the universe is based on rational facts. ...

• Word Count: 1427
• Approx Pages: 6

"Matters of fact," on the other hand, are learned a posteriori and all "reasoning concerning matters of fact seem to be founded on the relation of "cause and effect" (Hume 16). ... In an attempt to further defend his claim that foundation of our conclusions from experience are not founded on reasoning or any process of understanding, Hume divides all reasoning into two categories: demonstrative (concerning relations of ideas) and moral reasoning (concerning matters of fact and existence). ... Our mind is capable of perceiving this drastic proposal, and there is no way we can use reas...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the following essay, I will explain Hume's reasoning for his conclusion, consider opposite opinions by outside sources, and give reasoning for my opinion that Hume is both right and wrong. ... First of all, Hume tends to put his faith into probability over any other sources of reasoning. ... It's Hume's belief that people get a gratifying feeling when they believe in a miracle. ... Fogelin, titled A Defense of Hume on Miracles, that questions other people's attacks on Hume's belief. ... All in all, I think Hume does an excellent job in supporting his beliefs...

• Word Count: 1587
• Approx Pages: 6

This paper will use Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", to demonstrate the validity of both philosophies on man's reasoning and his ability to gain knowledge. ... To examine these beliefs, let us look at a scenario where the puppeteer turns the lights on and off, and during the off time, tips the tree over and plays a "bang" sound. ... In accordance with Hume's belief, it is therefore totally possible to have wrong knowledge based on our experiences. ... It also validates Hume's belief as to the relationship of knowledge to our experiences and custom. At ...

• Word Count: 991
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Hume states that we are all creatures of custom. ... The point Hume is presenting here is wonderfully ironic. ... This may lead to the belief that if something is not truly provable then what is the point of valuing its worth in describing nature. ... His breakdown of causation is thorough and he tackles it in a general enough manner that his reasoning can still be at least appreciated. ... There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that but Hume suggests that it may be an invaluable experience to see what we can determine using reasoning as opposed sensual stimuli. ...

• Word Count: 1525
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Hume states that we are all creatures of custom. ... The point Hume is presenting here is wonderfully ironic. ... This may lead to the belief that if something is not truly provable then what is the point of valuing its worth in describing nature. ... His breakdown of causation is thorough and he tackles it in a general enough manner that his reasoning can still be at least appreciated. ... There isn't necessarily anything wrong with that but Hume suggests that it may be an invaluable experience to see what we can determine using reasoning as opposed sensual stimuli. ...

• Word Count: 1541
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Good Morning, To begin, the statement that David Hume's ethical theory is superior to Immanuel Kant's is simply baseless and false. ... In brief, a priori means relating to, or derived by self-evident propositions and a posteriori means relating to, or derived by reasoning from experience. In times when something unprecedented occurs, however, experiences are of no use, and thus, the broader definition of a priori reasoning is most useful. A third major point on which Kant's beliefs are superior to Hume's regards the Kantian Kingdom of Ends. ... Hence, what once seemed...

• Word Count: 283
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Rationalism is the belief in innate ideas, reason, and the process of deduction. Empiricism is the belief in sense perception, induction, and that there are no innate ideas. ... The other is reasoning gained from perception or "matters of fact ". ... Descartes and Hume both made valid arguments for their beliefs, considering their ideas are still popular today. ... However, when dealing with people I take Hume's method of reasoning into account and use my personal judgement and prior experience to determine how I act and behave. ...

• Word Count: 1498
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

This person could not have any reasoning of fact outside what he is being exposed to or what was immediately present to his senses. ... Hume goes on to state that there are some situations such as being able to feel love or fear or hatred cannot be prevented or produced by reasoning, but that they are natural instincts based upon correlations with experience or custom. In Part two of section five Hume talks about how fiction and belief differ. ... He states that belief is something felt by the mind, which distinguishes the ideas of judgment from the fictions of imaginations. ... Hume als...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3

Many people have been taught and raised on certain beliefs or morals that their parents and society felt were important in the decisions that one makes. ... Hume also believed that the role of sentiment presides over the role of reason because moral judgment is decided by "some internal sense or feeling, which nature has made universal"(Hume). ... This idea explained how empirical could not be in logic philosophy because it only had rational reasoning which could give you necessity. ... Hume felt that reason without the experience of human nature could not exist. ... David Hume clearly sup...

• Word Count: 1079
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Hume put forward two arguments that help illustrate his point. ... Hume suggests that "a wise man proportions his beliefs to according to the evidence." ... However Hume's arguments have been heavily criticized. ... Wiles' argument is well regarded as a theory that appeals the scientifically educated as is allows for a belief in God whilst upholding scientific laws. ... However Wiles' argument like Hume's has been heavily criticized, Wiles suggestion that an interventionist view of miracles makes God seem arbitrary and or a partisan is not really an issue as it is illo...

• Word Count: 1903
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Rather than straightforwardly state his beliefs, he disguises them in dialog form. Hume's projects his beliefs on the speech of all three main characters; Cleanthes, Philo and Demea. ... Hume was not a fideist and does not directly associate himself with Demea's beliefs. ... In Part I, Philo emphasizes the weakness of reason especially when applied to something as transcendental as religious matters when he says, "We know not how far we ought to trust our vulgar methods of reasoning in such a subject," (7). ... This represents Hume's real philosophical belief that experiences do...

• Word Count: 1421
• Approx Pages: 6

It is often said that we are born with concepts and it is these concepts that structure our minds, beliefs, and actions. ... Hume is the second philosopher I will discuss. Hume's beliefs are different from Socrates. ... This theory does not include reasoning as a basis for you decisions. ... Hume's principles of cause and effect substantiate immediate learning, but you have to actually experience the event and cannot use reasoning to make your decisions. ...

• Word Count: 1628
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

There has never been a valid argument establishing God as the 'First Cause' according to David Hume (Titus and Smith, 344). ... Remaining always the skeptic, Hume's argument stops short of claiming that God does not exist, which would be atheism. ... Hume continued by asserting that literature had much to do with public perception of God and of His existence. ... Aquinas' argument, an admirable model of deductive reasoning, is lacking in scientific validity. ... Many take comfort in the belief that there is one Creator who still exists in the universe, a perfect being who w...

• Word Count: 1369
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

Hume, David (1711 1776) Hume was the main philosopher to start a controversy regarding the validity of the origination of all general scientific knowledge. ... Hume argues that causation is only based on belief originating from human intuition or induction, having no logical reasoning or certainty backing the theory. Another inductive weakness Hume talks about is the fact that it is not at all possible to prove human moral beliefs. ... There is one type of inductive reasoning that is flawlessly correct and never wrong; this is known as Aristotle'ssyllogism?. ... For this reason, th...

• Word Count: 1914
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Traditional Christian beliefs concerning suicide appear to have become solidified much later than the final edit of the Christian scriptures. ... David Hume approaches the question of suicide from the standpoint of duty. ... Much of Hume's argument focuses on Number 4. ... Hume's first point is probably the one that could most easily be attacked. ... Man is a reasoning be...

• Word Count: 2173
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Wolf states that individual duty to follow his/her moral reasoning conflicts with authority right to determine what the individual shall do. ... Smilla's beliefs, in Wolf's view justify her actions. ... While in the process of searching for the reasoning behind Isaiah's murder Smilla was faced with many different choices and moral dilemmas. ... Hume believes that our moral beliefs arise from our passions or feelings, as these are refined and developed through our own experience of the world and others and through social customs and conventions. ... Hume thought that imaginat...

• Word Count: 2294
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

It is beliefs based on other beliefs, but on the bottom is a firm foundation of belief. ... If youre careful with your senses and reasoning, you can justify science. ... He is a skeptic about the existence of the external world, causation and inductive reasoning. ... By understanding the world through cause and effect you generate hypotheses (Hume p.269). ... However, in order to do this reasoning we are assuming that nature is uniform. ...

• Word Count: 1055
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

To further understand the reasoning of both philosophies, one must analyse their chief premises. ... David Hume (1711-1776), a radical Empiricist in his time, could give no rational explanation regarding these concepts. ... Hume held the belief in only a moral existence. ... For such a universal belief, there must be some origin or cause. ... It is, once again, David Hume who criticizes the belief in miracles. ...

• Word Count: 1995
• Approx Pages: 8

Dream:" A brilliant piece of reasoning! ... Reflection is when we turn our mind on itself and receive ideas as thought, belief, doubt and will. 3. ... Finally, Hume provided a critique of skepticism in An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Hume differentiates between two types of skepticism: antecedent and consequent skepticism. ... In conclusion, Hume believes that reasoning about facts is only supported by experience and there are no proofs of its existence and non-existence on a substance. ...

• Word Count: 2135
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Empiricists used deductive reasoning putting greater emphasis on the inductive method. These different beliefs bread different conclusions about the mind, about the external world, and about God. ... Spinoza had a very different belief of God, unlike the beliefs of philosophers before him. ... One of the many people that would have a problem with Spinoza's philosophy, would be Hume, a known Empiricist. According to Hume's analysis of our belief in cause-effect relationships, we can have no knowledge of God. ...

• Word Count: 837
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School