Hume’s Philosophy: Knowledge, Morality, and Religion
Hume: Knowledge and Its Limits
Perceptions and Ideas
For Hume, we do not know objects themselves, but rather our perceptions of them. Perceptions are all that is present in the mind, whether through the senses, passions, or thought. They are of two kinds: impressions and ideas.
Impressions are what we know through the senses. Ideas are copies or images of impressions. While ideas resemble impressions, they are less vivid and are ultimately derived from sensory experience. Thus, our knowledge is limited by our impressions.
Association of Ideas
Ideas are spontaneously associated in the mind according to three laws:
- Resemblance
- Contiguity
- Cause and Effect
These associations form the basis of our system of knowledge.
Two Ways of Knowing
Relations of Ideas
These are expressed by analytic propositions that are necessarily true. The predicate is contained within the subject. Examples include propositions of geometry or algebra, such as “the whole is greater than the parts.”
Knowledge of Facts
These propositions are based on experience. We can only be sure of what is present to the senses or registered in memory.
Critique of Causality
We can never have true knowledge of future events, as we cannot have impressions of the future. However, we often make causal inferences about the future, such as assuming water will boil when heated. Hume argues that there is no necessary connection between cause and effect. Our belief in causality stems from habit and constant conjunction, not from certain knowledge.
Extra-Mental Reality, God, and the Self
Hume argues that we cannot ascertain the existence of an extra-mental reality. We only have access to our perceptions, not to the external world that may cause them. Similarly, we cannot know the existence of God or the self. The self, according to Hume, is a bundle of perceptions (impressions and ideas) linked by memory.
Phenomenalism and Skepticism
Hume’s phenomenalism leads to skepticism. A phenomenon is anything present to consciousness that can be sensed. Hume’s skepticism arises from the realization that our knowledge is limited to these phenomena.
Morality and Religion
Experimental Human Science
Hume’s theory of knowledge is part of his project to develop an experimental human science.
Moral Code
A moral code consists of judgments about behaviors and attitudes. But what underlies these judgments?
Basis of Morality
For Hume, morality is not based on God or reason. Reason helps us understand facts, but it cannot motivate action. Moral judgments, however, do influence our behavior. Morality is rooted in feeling, specifically in sentiments of approval or disapproval. These feelings are similar in all humans. Therefore, morality is based on human nature. The criterion for good and evil is the pleasure or pain that something causes.
Origin of Religion
Hume also locates the origin of religion in human nature. Religious sentiment arises from feelings of fear, hope, and awe of the mysterious. Religion, for Hume, is a socially useful phenomenon, but not necessarily a true account of reality.
Politics
Society is a natural result of sympathy, which draws people together for mutual benefit. This association requires organization and authority, leading to political structures. The legitimacy of power is justified by the good it brings to the people and its defense of the common good.