Essays on David Hume

Substance Dualism and Materialism: According to Descartes

René Descartes’ substance dualism is summed up in the most famous words used by many: “I think, therefore I am.” This is an indication of how he perceived the mind and the body – as two separate entities. His substance dualism can be summed up further in that, the farther the mind is moved away from the senses, the better the mind can understand the truths around its thinking. Thus, it means that, according to Descartes, the mind is separate from the body. In his reasoning, he regarded the material as separate from the mind. This forms the crux of ...

For as long as there are battles, there are prisoners. The captives are held by the so-called rivals. Out of the prisoners, some escape, others are freed; some are exchanged while others are killed. The outline portrays the situation of Bowe Bergdahl, who was held in captivity for almost five years. The sergeant was released in 2014 in exchange for several detainees in a US Camp in Cuba. Hours after his rescue, controversial stories rose accusing him of misconduct and desertion. Bowe is currently facing charges from the US Army on the account of desertion and misbehavior that can ...

The question of whether we should trust our sense comes to us from the ancient times. Since the beginning of philosophy and thought, humans wondered whether the world is the way they see and experience it. With the advancements in philosophy, such doubts even framed out in a separate field of thought. Many thinkers were very skeptical about the contrast between the world as we perceive it and the way it really is and what role do our senses play in the process of perception and understanding. Descartes and Hume are two of the most prominent philosophers whose views ...

According to David Hume, the essence of justice is vital to the success of any society. David Hume also asserts that certain benefits associated with justice usually arise from that basis that it may be superfluous, particularly when individuals implement initiatives to develop its proof (Hume 10). David Hume also believes that the primary origin of Justice is social utility. The benefits or advantages of justice in his opinion are founded on virtues. He is also of the opinion that stakeholders should engage in in-depth inquiry of virtues as the foundation of the benefits of justice. From a personal ...

Part one

John Locke who is a British Philosopher and Baron de Motesquieu a French philosopher had similar ideas and thoughts on the formation of the government. However, each of them defines unique path, which lead to the same conclusion.

John Locke is mainly famous as the father of liberalism following his exclusive thoughts on natural rights as well as liberties. According to him, all people are equal and independent. He argues that all individuals have the right to protect their life, possessions, as well as liberty from theft, as well as destruction. Following the incidences of conflict that will always arise in a ...

Chapter 10 Q1

The concept of on the ‘self’ has been one of the major issues in philosophy. Hume held that the ‘self’ is concept that is defined by the collective experiences that one has. In this case, Hume believes one’s awareness of the ‘self’ is tied to the person’s previous experiences through perception (David Hume, 1.4.6.3). Hume notes that humans do not and cannot observe something that is beyond their transient feelings, impressions, and sensations. He further claims that there is no anyone particular impressing that can be called the ‘self’. It is imperative that ...

1. Descartes famously begins his Meditations on First Philosophy by considering so-called “radical doubt.” What is radical doubt, and what are the three phases in the argument that lead him to it? What does he believe is the idea that is fundamentally resistant even to the deepest of doubts? And why does Descartes begin his epistemology like this, anyway? Rene Descartes propounded his theory of radical doubt where he insisted on the systematic process of doubting one’s beliefs in a bid to determine or ascertain that which is indeed true. Descartes, in his radical doubt, advocated for doubting ...

Induction

Induction The problem facing induction has been a great challenge presented by epistemology to various philosophers, among them David Hume. Since the 18th century, he has raised the induction concern to various philosophers with the aim of finding a solution to the dilemma. Karl Popper, Chalmers among others philosophers played an imperative role in identifying a considerable solution to the induction problem. In philosophy, induction is defined as a form of reasoning that is derived from a particular observation of a phenomenon and draws conclusions from the phenomenon. For instance, it is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow in the morning simply because ...

X X X X X 1 Introduction Since the 1930s a new philosophical direction developed almost without recognition of the public. Since then it gained in importance, till it has reached quite recently the predominant role. While this philosophical movement was in the beginning described as Logical Empiricism, or Neopositivism it is nowadays much more accurately described bas Analytical Philosophy. It conducts language and notion analysis on the basis of logic. Gaining popularity in the last years it has altered and even erased some old concepts of classical philosophy. - Vienna Circle ...

Determinism can be defined as the philosophical proposal that every incident, choice and act is causally ascertained by an uninterrupted chain of earlier incidences, and further that the chain of circumstances that led to the event will not lead to any other event. The theories of determinism all along the history of philosophy have come from at times motives that are similar. Certain forms of Determinism can actually be tested empirically also. The converse of Determinism is said to be free will. Essentially, Philosophy is the manner in which some people think about a few distinct questions. The most ...

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David Hume one of central figures of Scottish Enlightenment said “The Christian religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot be believed by any reasonable person without one.” This is an ample evidence of his rational and logical thinking. He always argued in favour of proof in order to establish the truth – making him one of the strongest rationalists and also establishing himself ...

1. In a classical look the problem of induction was formulated by David Hume who noticed that such conclusions are based on the assumption that the future is similar to the past, or on the assumption that events of one type are necessarily bound (by means of a causal condition) to the events of the other type. (1) For example, if someone is asked why we believe that the sun will rise tomorrow, we would answer that in the Earth turns round within each 24 hours (approximately), and that in the nature, there is a uniformity which guarantees that such events always ...

The existence of God or rather an intelligent being with define abilities has been a contentious issue of discussion since time immemorial. There are as many people advocating for divinity in the creation of the universe as there are people doubting the existence of this Supreme Being with unique and really frightening capabilities who designed and created the universe. Among the chief advocates of the thought of the existence of God and perfect order in the creation of the universe is William Paley. William Paley brings forth among the best arguments ever brought forward advocating for the existence of God ...

1. Introduction God created all things visible, invisible, including all spiritual beings. God’s work of creation was good, both physically and morally. God blessed creation with all his loving-kindness. God has given responsibilities to all the living beings as a care taker of earth. Out of all creations the human begins is the dominant creation in the earth. The human begins framed a certain rules by themselves and they strict to that rules. Even they don’t know whether the framed rules are morally correct. There is lot of moral principles written by many people. Most of the moral ...

Introduction

The glory of God and his handiwork can be well shown by the creation of the heavens and the firmament thus the divine revelation. However, this can also include the human personality since human beings are also God’s creatures. Thus the creation works and the light of creation do manifest the goodness, the wisdom and the power of God. Nevertheless, man is not sufficient and cannot give the knowledge and the will which is necessary for salvation. The two terms i.e. reason and revelation appear to be contradictory to many people. Reason can be seen to be ...

David Hume placed an extremely critical analysis on facts and theory. His analysis is fetched from deep consultation of rich philosophical thoughts. He claims that there exists a gap between facts and theories. He argues that the gap between the two social platforms is extremely wide, and it is impossible to close. His analysis starts on the analysis of experience in one’s life. He argues that one’s experience in life creates a perception in his or her mind that defines how he or she views certain things. Once an individual experiences certain activities in life they build some ...

David Hume is one of the philosophers who looked at the relationship of things as they are in the human world. His ideas were well explained through a philosophical argument. There are some tenets of his argument. Some of these tenets lie in the contents of impressions and ideas. According to Murphy (Para 5), Hume argued that the contents of the mind can be divided into impressions and ideas. The impressions are such things as passions, emotions and sensations. On the other hand, ideas are the faint images of these impressions in reflection, thought, and imagination. Given this explanation, ...

The nature of animals and their rights have been a contentious topic for many philosophers. Animal nature has been a complex topic for researchers and scientists and provides a great opportunity for philosophers to come up with theories or concepts that help us understand animals better. It is based on the idea of animals being treated in the same manner as humans such on the basis of being conscious. However, most of the theories agree that animals should no longer be used for clothing, entertainment, research subjects, food, or property. Some of the greatest contributors in this topic include David Hume and ...

David Hume, one of the foremost philosophers of the 18th century, was a skeptic and empiricist whose outlook on free will is based heavily in the sciences and what is known. Hume, being a compatibilist, deals mainly with the concept of reconciling the freedom and emotional nature of humanity with the coldly rational perspective of determinism. According to Hume, human behavior is commanded primarily by desire, instead of reason - "reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions" (Hume, Treatise, p. 295). The concept of free will is summarized greatly through the differentiation between liberty and necessity; ...

What Is Philosophy?

Philosophy needs one to think beyond the practical ends, as it questions and makes everything look problematic. To take1 philosophy, one has to think beyond the practical world.

Socratic wisdom

Plato (427-347) lived in Athens, under the reign of Pericles. He was Socrates’ follower and an advisor to emperors. Socrates (470-399 B.C) is considered the father of moral philosophy he lived in Athens under Pericles. He spent most of his life questioning and arguing with his contemporary’s questions of Justice, self-control, piety, virtues and friendship2.

In the book ‘The Apology’, Plato’s recounts of Socrates’ trial.3

John Locke (1632-1704) held that since God was a God of Truth, he would never require ...

Immanuel Kant is well known for his development of moral philosophy, particularly about his conception of reason. His scope in practical affairs goes beyond Hume’s philosophy, which is governed mainly by passion. David Hume argued that an individual’s “sentiments and affections” not reason, is what leads us to our actions. In other words someone may act in a certain manner hoping that that is a moral act but to another different person it is absolutely immoral this is because people’s affection on a given phenomena varies. Hence, according to Hume what is right in certain person may be wrong ...