David Hume’s Empiricism: Principles and Implications
Hume’s Empiricism: Main Characteristics
Hume’s empiricism is a philosophical current that emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries, with its primary representatives being British. This doctrine posits that the origin and validity of our knowledge are contingent upon experience. Similarly, only that which we perceive through our senses is considered real.
David Hume: Perceptions
According to Hume, all contents of the human mind are perceptions. These are further distinguished into:
- Impressions: Perceptions originating from the senses. They can be:
- Simple (involving only one sense)
- Complex (involving multiple senses)
- Ideas: Current memories of past impressions. They can also be:
- Simple
- Complex (formed by the association of simple ideas)
Complex ideas can arise from three types of relationships: resemblance, contiguity, and the cause/effect relationship.
Difference Between Impressions and Ideas
There are two primary distinctions between impressions and ideas:
- Liveliness: Impressions are more vivid than ideas.
- Temporal Priority: Impressions precede ideas.
First Principle
All simple ideas originate from corresponding impressions.
Second Principle
To assess the validity of an idea, it is necessary and sufficient to identify the impression from which it derives.
Knowledge of Relationships Between Ideas
These are constructed by connecting ideas, and their truth is independent of experience.
Knowledge of Facts
These are derived from experiential data, and their truth can only be established through experimental verification.
Foundation of Causality
Causality is based on the acquired habit of observing a repeated sequence of events. This practice leads us to anticipate the effect once the cause is given.
Validity of Causality
The validity of causality depends on the idea of a necessary connection between cause and effect. However, Hume argues that this is not a valid idea, thus denying the possibility of predicting the future.
Consequences of Hume’s Empiricism
Restriction of the Principle of Causality
We must restrict the application of the principle of causality to what is given to us in experience. This allows us to conduct checks and detect when it fails.
External Reality and Substance
- We are presented with the notion of substance.
- We have no direct impressions of substance.
- Our knowledge of substance and its existence relies on the principle of causality.
- Substance is considered the cause of our impressions.
- The principle of causality is deemed illegitimate because it extends beyond impressions to what is presumed to be their cause.
God
- The idea of God is not considered valid because we lack impressions of God.
- The invalidity of the idea of God undermines a priori proofs of His existence.
- A posteriori proofs rely on the principle of causality, which is deemed illegitimate as we lack impressions of what is thought to be the cause.
The Thinking Subject
- Rationalists assert the existence of the thinking self based on immediate intuition.
- The idea of a thinking self implies a unity that remains unchanged throughout a stream of impressions. However, Hume finds this implausible.
Phenomenalism
Hume’s approach leads to the reduction of reality to a collection of phenomena that appear and are perceived.
Skepticism
While not a radical skeptic, Hume limits our knowledge to current impressions and memories of past impressions.
Rejection of Moral Rationalism
Hume argues that most moral theories err by attempting to establish morality through reason. Reason, he contends, deals with how things are, not how they ought to be. Therefore, feelings, not reason, form the foundation of morality. Good and evil are associated with feelings of pleasure and pain, respectively, and are not understood in a purely selfish manner.