A Humean Critique of Descartes Montreal has big potholes. Lots of them. If one is to truly understand the philosophy of Hume and Descartes, one must understand what they would do with crummy roads as civil engineers in Montreal. Hume would probably repave the roads based on the success of past designs and the results of empirical data. Descartes, on the other hand, would probably leave nothing unscathed after attacking the problem with reason, scrapping the existing roadmap and re-building roads
Max Black and Humean Skepticism In this essay I will argue that the Humean problem of induction is only truly problematic when a strange, impossible definition is given to the term “reasonable”. I will begin by explaining what it is I understand Hume’s induction problem to be, and to try to flesh out the issues relevant to my case. I will then examine Max Black’s proposed solution to the problem, and show in what ways this solution is useful and why it is ultimately unconvincing. In this
object, as Kant is usually interpreted, but upon our need to generate a comprehensive representation that includes a certain a priori conception of events in the world around us. Although the argument I attribute to Kant is valid, it cannot compel the Humean skeptic to accept the necessity of presupposing the causal determination of each event: Kant has not successfully responded to Hume in the Second Analogy. In the Second Analogy, Kant argues that we must presuppose, a priori, that each event is
Abstract One Humean view holds that motivation requires beliefs and desires, which are separate and distinct mental states. Beliefs are disposed to fit the world, and desires are disposed to make the world fit them. This view is thought to eliminate besire theory, according to which moral judgments have both a world-mind direction of fit by representing the ethical facts of the matter, and a mind-world direction of fit by motivating action accordingly. Here I argue that besires are fully consistent
Introduction In this essay I shall seek to outline what has come to be referred to as the Humean Theory of Reasons (HTR). I will subsequently go on to discuss the moral implications of HTR, surrounding the incompatibility with notions of moral absolutism and universalism. A possible Korsgaardian response to Hume will then be proposed, suggesting that it may in some cases be irrational to act immorally, but only if one’s actions are not compatible with one’s desired end. I will conclude that the question
Putting Value into Art The attempt to base a standard for assessing the value of works of art upon sentiment (the feeling of pleasure or displeasure) was famously made by David Hume in his essay "Of the Standard of Taste." Hume's attempt is generally regarded as fundamentally important in the project of explaining the nature of value judgements in the arts by means of an empirical, rather than a priori, relation. Recently, Hume's argument has been strongly criticized by Malcolm Budd in his book
dualistic view on the body/mind relationship continues to be scrutinized day in and day out. As I will explain throughout the argument dualism is facing increasingly more constraints as time goes on. An evaluation of the mind/body argument from a Humean perspective proves dualism to be flawed in key aspects, where in contrast a materialistic approach is not affected. The argument the mind/body dualism interaction has been evolving for thousands of years. Earlier on in history during the era of
that we can never act free. The thesis of compatibilist, however, states that we may have free will, even if all of our actions are determined by forces beyond our controls. Frankfurtean compatibilism provides a more refined model than Humean compatibilism. Humean compatibilism has denied the deterministic notion of freedom-the ability to have chosen otherwise. Hume then provides a new definition of freedom, as “a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will” (“Of Liberty
Plato's Moral Psychology I argue that Plato's psychological theories are motivated by concerns he had about moral theory. In particular, Plato rejects the modern account of rationality as the maximization of subjectively evaluated self-interest because, had he adopted such an account, his theory of justice would be subject to criticisms which he holds are fatal to the contractarian theory of justice. While formulating a theory to remain within ethical constraints sometimes violates the canons
This paper critically examines Hume’s argument against the knowledge/existence of substantival mind. This denial is rooted in his epistemology which includes a theory of how complex ideas which lack corresponding impressions are manufactured by the imagination, in conjunction with the memory, on the basis of three relations among impressions: resemblance, continuity and constant conjunction. The crux of my critique consists in pointing out that these relations are such that only an enduring, unified
moon. This paper will attempt to examine these events from a Cartesian, Humean, and Kantian point of view and try to reconcile these differing opinions. Descartes proposed that “true knowledge is produced by thinking which is reflective, logical, and analytical, independent of our sense experiences in the world” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 257). Hume is regarded as a true skeptic, using a two-pronged approach to the world. Humean thinking uses reason and tries to negate the
when looking at Hume’s arguments, it’s hard to argue with him on this. Hume develops sceptical arguments which attempt to demonstrate that our belief formation processes are, in fact, self-undermining – these arguments are what come together to form Humean Scepticism. Hume, similar to Descartes, is not a sceptic himself, however, it is his method which condones scepticism; Hume utilises this to teach the reader that belief is not lead by
From the origin of Western philosophical thought, there has been an interest in moral laws. As Hume points out in the Treatise, "morality is a subject that interests us above all others" (David Hume "A Treatise of Human Nature'). Originally, thoughts of how to live were centered on the issue of having the most satisfying life, with "virtue governing one's relations to others" (J.B. Schneewind 'Modern Moral Philosophy'). However, the view that there is one way to live that is best for everyone and
about the issue of moral reasoning. A man named Bernard Williams has also written about the topic, and in his article “Internal and External Reasons,” he provides a framework for how we can organize Laura’s thought process, which he calls the sub-Humean model of the internal
Representationalism and Antirepresentationalism - Kant, Davidson and Rorty (1) ABSTRACT: The notions of representationalism and antirepresentationalism are introduced and used in contemporary philosophical discussions by Richard Rorty to describe his and the neopragmatists' attitude toward traditional problems of epistemology. Rorty means that the history of philosophy shows that there are no final answers to the traditional questions about knowledge, truth, and representation; consequently, they
In An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume reasons that until we know the “necessary connection” or cause of things then all knowledge is uncertain, “merely a habit of thinking based upon repeated observation” (induction), and which depends on the future being like the past. Ultimately, he concludes that matters of fact can only be known through experience therefore matters of fact are only justified by recourse to experience, but any attempt to do this ends up being “circular”, “we
Case-Based Environmental Ethics Cases have been widely used in medical ethics and law. In both fields, numerous books and articles about cases have appeared, including book-length catalogs of cases. I argue that pluralistic casuistry provides an adequate approach to environmental ethics. It retains the strengths while avoiding the weaknesses of the other approaches. Importantly, it resolves some broader theoretical issues and provides a clear, explicit methodology for education and praxis.
The philosophical theory of dualism holds that mind and body are two separate entities. While dualism presupposes that the two ‘substances’ may interact, it contrasts physicalism by refusing to denote correlation between body and mind as proof of identity. Comparing the two theories, dualism’s invulnerable proof of the existence of qualia manages to evade arguments from physicalism. While a common argument against qualia—non-physical properties defined in Jackson’s Knowledge Argument—targets the
reasoning may be completely foreign to your peers. Others may not be able to comprehend your way of understanding the existence or impossibility of miracles. "A natural violation of a law of nature would indeed be incoherent, but this is not part of the Humean concept of the miraculous." (Clarke, 1997) For scientific minded individuals or individuals who have never had their own personal encounter of a miracle, the lack of evidence to support the theories and claims of a miracle are unfathomable and far
He was the fourth of nine children of Johann Georg and Anna Regina Kant, German philosopher Immanuel Kant was born in Konigsberg, East Prussia in 1724. Son of a humble saddler, his family belonged to a Protestant religious group of Pietists ,religion was a very improtant part in every aspect of their lives. Even though Kant was critical of formal religion, he still admired the conduct of Pietists. Kant’s went to elementary school at Saint George’s Hospital School and then went to the Collegium