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Biography of David Hume

David Hume is a well-known Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist born on May 7th, in Edinburg, Scotland. He was of British nationality and his interests included among other things; Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Aesthetics, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, philosophy of religion and classical economics (Hume 697). He was able to study and research various subjects, including Scottish enlightenment, naturalism, skepticism, empiricism, sentimentalism, and liberalism. George Berkeley and Cicero influenced him and as a result, made his work in research worthy going on to influence; A. J. Ayer, Simon Blackburn, Gilles Deleuze, Daniel Dennett, Immanuel Kant, Baron d’Holbach, Edmund Husserl, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison among others. This essay primarily focuses on discussing more of David Hume’s achievements and some of his other works (Hume 697).

Some of the achievements and ideas known from his works include philosophical empiricism, which states that all concepts originate from experiences and that all concepts are about things that can be experienced. Not forgetting the philosophical skepticism; from a western viewpoint, this is the attitude of doubting any form of awareness (Hausman and Hausman 209). According to Hume, skeptics have championed the adequacy of the claim by questioning the type ideology they are based upon. It, therefore, challenges the claims of ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle as well as others raised during renaissance such as scholasticism and Calvinism (Reid 53).

 

In his work, Hume interpreted philosophy as the inductive and experimental science of human life. This was based on the perspective of the scientific techniques of the English physicist known as Sir Isaac Newton. According to Isaac Newton, philosophy is a science, of which Hume was able to go further and explain that the practical part or putting into practice lessons learned from science was what defined philosophy (Hausman and Hausman 210).

In his works, he tried to explain how cognitive mind works in acquiring information. He believed in all the theories of realism were impossible. Additionally, he emphasized that if a person has knowledge, then he or she has to have some experience. It is believed Hume may have claimed to be a teacher who taught good morals or a person who promoted good morals. He viewed the experience as a determinant of knowledge (Reid 55). He did not acknowledge knowledge without experience. Knowledge is not only acquired through experience but also in other ways, which include: observation, going to school or higher learning institutions, or through personal abilities, and talents.

In his early days, he wrote documents on the human nature in which he attempted to create a full–fledged philosophical system. One of the documents, titled “Of the Understanding,” discusses the order and the source of ideas; it also discusses space and era, knowledge and likelihood, including the nature of causality and the skeptical implication of theories of human nature (Robert 256). His second book, titled “Of the Passions,” describes an elaborative psychological mechanism which explains effectiveness and emotional order of humankind in which one is allocated a definite responsibility of explaining the role of human nature (Hausman and Hausman 212). Hume’s third book speaks about morals, the characteristics, and the goodness regarding the emotional feelings of endorsement or displeasure that people have when they reflect on behavior or the act of another person, in the light of pleasant or offensive results, either from oneself or from other people. During his life, Hume refused to be associated with the document when he gave his opinions stating that the treatise was not well constructed. He also overlooked it, made a poor assumption, and failed properly research it (Reid 57).

In the year 1739, Hume was able to produce his first two books. In 1740 he released book three which was his favorite although its popularity it did not live up to Hume’s expectations.  As a writer, this was quite depressing; however, he did not stop there. Later on, he rewrote his first and third books in which he expressed his mature thoughts. In 1744 he became the chair of moral philosophy at Edinburgh.  Following his promotion to the chair of moral philosophy, it was evident that his works had captured many and that they had not gone unnoticed. Hume spent all the money he earned in education, and his sacrifice proved itself to be well worth it in the long run. He rewrote his third book once more and gave it the title “inquiry concerning human understanding.” in 1758.

The purpose of rewriting the book was to describe and explain the principles of human acquaintance and skills. It explains and answers important questions about the nature of reasoning which are in line with the issues of what is true, and it is, the experience of human nature to seek to answer themselves by using the principle of association (Hausman and Hausman 212). The rationale behind Hume’s works was to allow classification of awareness objects. He states that objects are either impressions or construing. Objects as impressions are when data or information of feelings or internal consciousness or ideas is exhorted from information by ending or removing it. This explains why the mind fails to come up with ideas instead it creates ideas from impressions (Reid 57).  Hume later on came up with a theory, to explain impression in which he declares that, impression acquires a meaning if brought before the cognitive mind as an object that can be gathered or arranged from an idea by one of the psychological processes. He views the second approach of objects as construing and therefore, he comes up with two approaches, which include analytical approach and empirical approach. The analytical approach focused on the relation of ideas while the empirical approach focused on the matters of facts stating that ideas could be seized before the mind their meanings and their associations to one another, an aspect that can only be identified through scrutiny (Reid 62).

Hume comes up with a doctrine on “causality” in which he emphasized on the necessary connections between facts. He believed that casual relation between data of senses could not be observed or seen. He argued that the notion of one event brings forth the thought of another, in other words, it is a habitual process with one action orchestrating the rise of another.

Hume emphasizes the process and doctrine of casual interference in which he brings up the concept of belief. He comes up with the example that when one adds too much salt in his food, the food becomes extremely sour or bitter, not only as a belief but as a fact, the moment you get to taste the food, and one cannot be able to eat it. Another example is when it is extremely hot. One gets dehydrated and needs water to quench their thirst. Hume, later on, investigates the nature of belief stating that he was the first person that came up with this concept and researched on it (Reid 63). In his research, he tends to define conviction as the sort of dynamism or vividness which comes in handy with the perception of an idea. For example, you can think of something and in turn bring forth facts that support the thought, which in turn bring forth belief. During the process of causal inference, an observer can shift his or her mind from an idea to something they frequently associate with it.

According to Hume, our brains cannot prove whether events are not causally linked or whether they will not be associated in the future in a similar way as they were in the past. His ideology and viewpoint on the issue is shared across the field of philosophy because most people support the idea of causality.

Hume is only able to prove that it is not possible to prove causality; neither can belief be verified by any empirical means. Through indication, humans are said to be both intuitive and infernal something that is very normal. This is explained using Hume’s skepticism, which is an assertion, a refutation and not a conviction.

Hume views that being sympathetic is a fact of human nature, which is important if humans are to be happy (Reid 67). He explains this in his doctrine on the “Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals” that morality is those behaviors or actions that are approved and agreed upon by society. Hume’s finding state that the grounds of belief are found in feelings. Qualities of the feelings are respected only for their usefulness or their good nature depending on their owners or to other people. His moral system claims to bring happiness to others and happiness to oneself. His emphasis is on self-sacrifice claims that the ethical uprightness that he seeks to find in humans, he can exhort it out of sympathy. Human nature enables people to laugh with others, cry with those who are hurt, grieve with the grieving and seek the good of the welfare of others as well as own welfare

Hume as a writer has brought a lot to the field of philosophy. His works also are not biased racially or based on gender. As an economist, he introduced several new ideas on which “classical economics” was built, in which he states that wealth consisted of tangible items and goods but not money (McGee 184). Money inflow should be about the goods in the marketplace. He also stated that the low rate of interest would affect trade. He emphasized that a nation cannot depend only on imports since each and every nation has a unique advantage regarding raw materials, climate, labor and land that it receives freely, which allows them to trade.

He also encouraged advancement beyond agriculture to an industrial economy and towards any form of civilization so that the richer countries would not look down on the developing countries (Reid 75).

Hume as a philosopher, viewed philosophy as the science of human nature, which he finalizes by saying that human are beings who are more concerned about perception or assumption rather than facts and reasons. According to Immanuel Kant on his works on critical philosophy claim that David Hume directly awoke him from bed because of his inability to view things differently. In the 19th century Auguste Comte, a French mathematician, and sociologist developed a theory on positivism. According to Jeremy Bethan, of the early 19th century in Britain, Hume positive influence enabled him to change to the moral theory, which claims, right conduct should be about the worth of the consequences caused. If the consequences caused by an action are negative, then there is no worth doing it. If the consequences are positive, then it’s worth doing it. This explained theory is commonly known as the theory of utilitarianism.

David Hume was the first philosopher to reformulate the skepticism of the ancients. He made this known in a novel and compelling way despite admiring Newton. Hume’s ideology of causality questioned the philosophical basis of Newton’s science, which he claimed viewed the world as a science and was wrong because the world rests on the recognition of a few basic causal laws that preside over it.

In the 20th century, Hume’s naturalism attracted attention, unlike his views on skepticism. In naturalism, he stated that it lies in philosophical justification, which was his belief. These justifications could only be entrenched in regularities of the universe. The theory provided solutions to the problems arising from the skeptical tradition in that Hume, in his other philosophical role, had done so much.

Bibliography

Hausman, A., and Hausman, D. “Idealizing Hume.”Hume Studies 18.2 (1992): 209-218.

“David Hume: A Biography.”Nature 175.4460 (1955): 697-698.

Reid, J. “The Metaphysics Of Jonathan Edwards And David Hume.”Hume Studies 32.1 (2006): 53-82.

McGee, R, W. “The Economic Thought Of David Hume.”Hume Studies 15.1 (1989): 184-204.

Warner, Stuart D. “David Hume: Philosopher of Moral Science. David Hume, Antony Flew”. Ethics 98.3 (1988): 584-585.

 

 

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