Hume's Philosophy: Empiricism, Causality, and the Self

MAIN LINES OF THOUGHT OF HUME

Empiricism

Hume is the most representative philosopher of this movement, which posits that all knowledge comes from experience.

Epistemology

Hume denies the existence of innate ideas; the only elements of reasoning are ideas and impressions. There are two types of reasoning: a priori and a posteriori. The principle of causality states that a particular cause always and necessarily produces a particular effect.

Metaphysics

Hume criticizes the three Cartesian substances (the self, external reality, and God), denying the claim of the existence of the self and asserting that we cannot ensure God's existence.

Ethics

Hume argues that morality is based on moral sentiment and defends moral emotivism.

Problem of Knowledge

All our knowledge comes from empirical experience. Hume aimed to create a science of man, similar to Newton's physical science, focusing on human nature and the capacities of human understanding. He denied the existence of innate ideas (contra Locke). He identified two kinds of perceptions: impressions and ideas, and two rational modes of knowledge: knowledge of relations between ideas and knowledge of matters of fact (a posteriori). Hume asserted that all knowledge comes from a posteriori reasoning, explaining the connection between ideas through the principle of association, causation, and necessary connection.

Problem of God

Hume argues that we cannot ensure God's existence because it is impossible to experience and therefore prove it. It cannot be rationally justified; we have no impressions of God. The basis of religion, for Hume, is neither rational nor solely based on moral instinct. Our ideas are limited by our experience; therefore, we have no experience or image of God.

Problem of the Self

Hume criticizes the three Cartesian substances (self, external reality, and God). He denies the existence of the self as a permanent and stable identity, a substance or essence, because it is impossible to have an impression of the self. Our self is the succession of impressions in our mind that our memory recalls. The "I" is a psychological fact produced by memory, not something substantial.

Problem of Reality

Because we cannot definitively say that our impressions come from something outside ourselves, we cannot ensure that external reality exists. Therefore, we cannot know for sure if reality exists. Hume's criticism of the three Cartesian substances (self, external reality, and God) leads him to deny the existence of the "I" as a permanent and stable identity. It is impossible to have an impression of the self; thus, our self is merely the succession of impressions in our mind that our memory recalls. The "I" is a psychological fact produced by memory, not something substantial.