Thomas Hume And External World Skepticism

Hume is a philosopher who is widely known for his skeptical views and theories. One of Hume’s more controversial ideas was his view of external world skepticism. Hume believed that we are not justified in our belief of the external world. As a skeptic, Hume wanted an explanation for everything and, if one could not be produced, he believed that we should not hold that idea to be true. However, Hume’s ideas were widely refuted. One famous philosopher that responded to Hume was a man by the name of Thomas Reid. I will argue that Reid was highly successful in his refutation of Hume’s ideas. I will begin by laying out the basis for Hume’s skepticism. I will then explain Reid’s simple response to his argument. Finally, I will explain the main critiques

He then says that it is a given fact that the way of ideas is correct. Therefore, we cannot believe in the external world. Reid’s response to this is simple.
To respond to Hume’s reasoning, Reid used what is now known as the GE Moore Shift. The GE Moore Shift is a way of changing the order of the premises in the previous reasoning in order to change the meaning. Specifically, the shift changes the places of the second and third propositions. Reid agreed with the fact that, if the way of ideas is correct, then we can reject the outside world. However, Reid then said that we are naturally justified in the belief of the external world, so it must be that the way of ideas is incorrect. This shift in the way of thinking was much easier for people to grasp because it was more intuitive. As humans, we spend our time observing and learning from the external world so it is easy to believe that the external world does exist and that we can gain knowledge from it.
In order to further discredit Hume, Reid critiques Hume’s skepticism. Reid’s main criticism is the Hume is not a true skeptic. Rather, Reid points out, Hume is merely a semi- skeptic. He supports this accusation by clarifying the fact that Hume is not

The use of the GE Moore Shift allowed people to, more intuitively and more directly, understand their existence and solidify their belief in the external world. However, the most successful part of his response was the critique of Hume’s skepticism. By showing that Hume was not a true skeptic, but rather a semi-skeptic, ruined the credibility of his argument. Furthermore, Reid’s introduction of natural principles creates justification for the semi-skepticism of Hume because, if Hume holds certain beliefs to be true naturally, there is no reason to reject other intuitive notions that we have, such as the existence of a material world, because of our natural inclinations to accept them and the idea that the notions could not exist without a material