David Humes Philosophy - 897 Words

One would think that the human thought and ideas are some things that have no boundaries containing them, and no limitations stopping them. David Hume’s philosophy has essentially argued the exact opposite of what most humans believe about their own thoughts and ideas. Hume makes a distinction between impressions and ideas, where impressions are lively and vivid, while ideas are from memory making them less lively and vivid. David Hume’s argument is that we have no innate ideas rather our ideas come from us reflecting upon our impressions, while Hume does bring up one objection I think that his objection can be argued against, thus making Hume’s argument more plausible. Hume characterizes impressions as our lively perceptions, he says that these perceptions are what we feel, see, hear, taste, smell or even emotions like love, and hate. Our ideas are only our reflection on these impressions, meaning they are less lively and vivid. â€Å"A man in a fit of anger, i s actuated in a very different manner from one who only thinks of that emotion.†(p.10) This follows Hume’s argument because while the man who is in the fit of anger is feeling that emotion at that point, the person looking on can only compare the feeling of anger that the other person is feeling to a time that they felt anger. The person looking on is only reflecting on the feeling of anger that they have felt before, they are not actually feeling or experiencing any anger like the other person. Hume claims that whenShow MoreRelatedThis semester we have been studying various philosophers, and from those philosophers only one has1000 Words   |  4 Pagessemester we have been studying various philosophers, and from those philosophers only one has been able to get ethics right and that would be David Hume. David Hume presents a very compelling argument to previous philosophers like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine who tie their ethics to God, and in which Hume says we don’t need God to be ethical. David Hume goes on arguing that all humans have emotions and since we have emotions we should act on them instead of suppressing them. Another argumentRead MoreDavid Hume Philosophy1172 Words   |  5 PagesDavid Hume, the Scottish philosopher, is recognized for his â€Å"philosophical empiricism and skepticism†. Of course, it is not all that surprising that an educated man, such as David Hume, would attempt to explain the human condition through experience, considering the fact that Hume lived during the Enlightenment period; a period during which science and reason dominated the world of thought. In his autobiography, My Own Life, the Scottish philosopher, takes notice of the fact that even women wereRead MorePersonal Identity : David Hume1133 Words   |  5 Pagesidentity is a concept within philosophy that has persisted throughout its history. In the eighteenth century this problem came to a head. David Hume dedicated a portion of his philosophy in the attempts to finally put what he saw as a fallacious claim concerning the soul to rest. In the skeptical wake of Hume, German idealist, beginning with Immanuel Kant, were left with a variety of epistemic and metaphysical problems, the least of which was personal identity. David Hume was a Scottish empiricistRead MoreThe Dawn Of The Enlightenment By David Hume1740 Words   |  7 Pageswas developed. Prolific Scottish philosopher David Hume, best known for his radical use of skepticism to examine every possible concept in the vast index of Enlightenment values, emerged as a revolutionary departure from the traditional French and English Enlightenment thinkers. Hume was known for applying a brand of skepticism in his consideration of concepts such as reason, human sympathy, and the authority of traditional ideas. While David Hume’s extreme skepticism challenges preconceived notionsRead MoreBerkeleys and Humes Philosophy About God Essay1565 Words   |  7 PagesBerkeleys and Humes Philosophy about God When people think about empiricists, they usually discuss views of great philosophers such as George Berkeley and David Hume. Empiricists believe that all knowledge comes from the senses. Rationalists, on the other hand, believe that we can gain knowledge through the inspection of innate ideas. Although Berkeley and Hume are both empiricists, they still have different opinions about the existence of God. Berkeleys philosophy uses God as the central figureRead MoreThe Spread Of Empiricism By Isaac Newton1067 Words   |  5 Pagescontributed to the birth of empiricism. This was the belief that knowledge acquired through sense experience is the only true meaningful knowledge. This idea began in Britain and spread all the way to Scotland and even Ireland. Philosophers such as David Hume developed radical ideas supporting these beliefs. Descartes theory regarding clockwork universe inspired others to further investigate the countless mysteries in nature. By 1687, Isaac Newton developed his Principia Mathematica, which astoundedRead MoreHumes Ethics1047 Words   |  5 PagesHume’s Ethics Contents 1. Introduction 2. Hume’s ethics as an emotive theory of ethics 3. Conclusion 4. Bibliography David Hume is an outstanding Scottish philosopher of the 18th century whose views has a significant impact on the following generations of thinkers throughout the world. His sceptical arguments concerning induction, causation and especially religion, including his famous thesis that human knowledge arises only from sense experience and not from rational judgments, shaped theRead MoreDavid Hume ´s Philosophy Essay875 Words   |  4 Pages Hume’s Epistemology David Hume was a Scottish philosopher known for his ideas of skepticism and empiricism. Hume strived to better develop John Locke’s idea of empiricism by using a scientific study of our own human nature. We cannot lean on common sense to exemplify human conduct without offering any clarification to the subject. In other words, Hume says that since human beings do, as a matter of fact, live and function in this world, observation of how humans do so is imminent. The primaryRead MoreDavid Hume And Renee Descartes s Theories Of Knowledge And Ideas1356 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophers David Hume and Renee Descartes have opposing views about the origination of ideas. Hume claims that all ideas are copies of impressions, which come from sensation. Descartes disagrees with this, arguing that in order to obtain knowledge, there must be a rational method for obtaining it, and that the senses are not a reliable source. This essay will present both philosopher’s arguments and c ompare and contrast each perspective regarding matters of knowledge and ideas. I will then argueRead MoreJustification for Kant’s Moral and Ethical Views in A Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals1639 Words   |  7 PagesIn A Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanual Kant, unlike David Hume, aimed to establish an absolute system of morality based upon reason. Kant’s conceptions regarding what is moral and how someone should behave ethically, are often seen as contradictions to those proposed by Hume, who holds an empirical stance. As mentioned, Kant emphasizes the necessity of basing morality on a priori principles; he puts faith in the power of human rationality and believed that reason alone, not feeling