Hume Flashcards
What are impressions and ideas?
Impressions are direct experiences.
Ideas are based on impressions.
What are the principles of association?
Resemblance, contiguity in time and place, cause and effect
Give examples for each one and how they operate:
Resemblance - seeing a photo of a friend makes me think of that friend
Contiguity in time - this day reminds me of the next day
Contiguity in place- the room I am in makes me think of the rooms next to each other in the building
Cause and Effect- seeing a wound makes me think of the pain it have caused
What are the two objects of human reason or enquiry?
Relations of ideas and matters of fact
How do we reason about matters of fact?
With cause and effect
How does cause and effect operate according to Hume?
Based on constant and regular conjunction, we form customs
Explain the billiard- ball example:
ball hits another and the other one moves. We tend to think the first one caused the second one to move but it’s not a causation. We see only one ball moving then the other one moving.
What are the special powers of objects? And how do they differ from sensible qualities?
Special powers are qualities of objects that are not perceivable through the senses.
Explain the bread example:
I can sense many qualities of bread: color, smell, taste, density, etc. I cannot sense its nourishing power. But when i eat the bread, it nourishes me.
Each time I eat it, it nourishes me.
How do we make inferences about the future?
Based on constant and regular conjunctions we have experienced in the past upon which we have built customs.
What is “custom” for Hume?
A relation of cause and effect built based on constant and regular conjunction experienced in the past.
What is belief for Hume?
A feeling that attached itself to certain fictions and ideas.
What is the difference between belief and fiction?
Our mind makes up fictions but we cannot choose to believed in certain ones of them. but since belief is a feeling, we cannot choose it. Belief attaches itself to certain things without our control.
Does belief have a place in all of the operation of our mind? How does Hume discuss this?
Yes. He shows this with cause & effect, resemblance, contiguity in time and place to see if belief has a place.
