| David Hume Essay, Research Paper
David Hume
1. Hume says, If we would satisfy ourselves, therefore, concerning the
nature of that evidence, which assures us to matters of fact, we must
enquire how we arrive at the knowledge of cause and effect. Hume then
makes the claim that; knowledge of this relation is not, in any instance,
attained by reasonings a priori. The support for this claim is that
knowledge of cause and effect arises entirely from experience. If you
presented an object to a man that he had never come in contact with, he
would not be able to give you the causes or the effects of this mysterious
object. You can not tell the causes or effects of a new object from the
qualities, which appear to the senses. Hume writes, nor does any man
imagine that the explosion of gunpowder, or the attraction of a loadstone,
could ever be discovered by arguments a priori. Only through experiences
with gunpowder and a loadstone would you be able to know the cause, which
produced it, or the effects, which will arise for it. Hume writes, When
we reason a priori, and consider merely any object or cause, as it appears
to the mind, independent of all observations, it never could suggest to us
the notion of any distinct object, such as its effect; mush less, show us
the inseparable and inviolable connexion between them. A man must be very
sagacious who could discover by reasoning that crystal is the effect of
heat, and ice and cold, without being previously acquainted with the
operation of these qualities. Therefore, cause and effect is learned
through experience.
2. The circular reasoning in Section IV, Part II, paragraph 6, is, we have
said that all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of
cause and effect; that our knowledge of the relation is derived entirely
from experience; and that all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the
supposition that the future will be conformable to the past. If we are to
put trust in past experience and make it the standard of our future
judgement then the arguments to support the statement must be probable or
matter of fact and real existence. There is no such argument to support
the supposition. To attempt and prove the last statement about the future
being conformable to the past by probable arguments is evidently going in a
circle because no probable argument exists.
3. When a man says, I have found, in all instances, such sensible
qualities conjoined with such secret powers: And when he says, Similar
sensible qualities will always be conjoined with similar secret powers
This is the problem with induction as Hume saw it. When people experience
similarity among natural objects, they then to form conclusions based on
reoccurring observations. If every zebra I saw had stripes, I would come
to the conclusion that all zebras had stripes. The problem is that I have
not seen all zebras, so my conclusion about zebras might be false. All the
premises about zebras might be true, but my conclusion could be false. It
is likely to some degree that all zebras I see will have stripes, but it is
possible that my conclusion is wrong. I can imagine a zebra without
stripes, but I have never seen one. That does not mean it does not exist.
Hume’s solution
1. Once a person acquires more experience and has lived long enough to
observe similar objects, he will constantly infer the existence of one
object from the appearance of the other. He has not from all his
experience acquired any idea or knowledge of the secret power by which the
one object produces the other. He will continue in this same course of
wrongful thinking. This is the problem. Hume presents a sceptical
solution to this problem. His solution is, This principle of Custom or
Habit. For wherever the repetition of any particular act or operation
produces a propensity to renew the same act or operation, without being
impelled by any reasoning or process of the understanding, we always say,
that this propensity is the effect of Custom. This solution gives us the
answer as to why we believe that all zebras have stripes. It is a solution
to the problem of induction. It is a principle of human nature. All
inferences from experience, therefore, are effects of custom, not of
reasoning. Custom is the guide to the future; it allows us to except a
similar course of events with those that have appeared in the past.
2. It does not seem like a solution to the problem. The problem is people
tend to form beliefs about objects through experience. If every Nintendo I
saw was black, then I would form the belief that all Nintendo’s are black.
But in my mind I can conceive a blue Nintendo, but still believe that no
such thing exists. Also, I have not seen ever Nintendo in the world so it
is possible that somewhere there is a blue Nintendo. This principle of
Custom that Hume provides as an answer to the problem is not really a
solution. I believe that it is merely a definition. He says that when we
repeatedly see any particular act or operation, we produce the belief that
the act or operation will repeat itself again because of the effect of
Custom. That does not help us any with the problem. It just defines why
we have the problem. I don’t believe that Hume’s solution takes us any
farther, but it does clarify the problem a little more.
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