David Hume’s Philosophy: Empiricism, Knowledge, and Ethics
David Hume: Empiricism and Skepticism
David Hume argued that empiricism, the idea that knowledge comes from experience, leads to skepticism. He opposed rationalism, which models modern science on mathematics, emphasizing the role of experience in acquiring knowledge.
Basic Question: The origin and validity of knowledge.
Fundamental Thesis:
- The origin of knowledge is experience (both external and internal), denying innate ideas.
- Human knowledge is limited by experience, leading to a degree of skepticism.
- All knowledge is knowledge of ideas, connected through laws of association.
- Reason is practical and limited by experience, rejecting metaphysics.
Hume aimed to apply Newton’s method to moral science, viewing impressions as particles that attract or repel each other based on association.
Principles of Human Knowledge
a) Empiricist Principle: Reason alone cannot generate original ideas.
b) Principle of Immanence: Only images or perceptions are present in the mind.
c) Copy or Correspondence Principle: Ideas are copies of impressions. Meaningful terms must refer to impressions.
d) Principle of Association of Ideas: Ideas are connected by likeness, contiguity, and cause-effect.
e) Principle of Denial of General Ideas: Nominalism; general ideas are particular ideas linked to general terms.
Issues of Fact and Relations of Ideas
Hume distinguished between:
- Relations of Ideas: Necessary truths (e.g., mathematics) discovered through thought.
- Matters of Fact: Contingent truths based on experience and the principle of sufficient reason.
The Problem of Reality
Knowledge of the future relies on cause-effect relationships, which are based on experience and custom, leading to belief rather than certainty.
Science and Metaphysics
Mathematics deals with relations of ideas, while physics deals with matters of fact, aiming to control the future through causes. Metaphysics is seen as dogmatic and superstitious.
Hume’s Ethics: Moral Emotivism
Hume’s ethics, presented in Treatise of Human Nature and Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, follows the emotivist tradition of Shaftesbury and Hutcheson.
Moral Critique of Rationalism
Hume questioned the origin and basis of moral judgments, arguing that morality is based on emotions rather than reason.
Influences
Hume was influenced by the emotivist thinkers Shaftesbury and Hutcheson.