An Appraisal of Hume's Scepticism in Epistemology

An Appraisal of Hume's Scepticism in Epistemology
Author: James Alabi
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2018-12-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3668846820

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Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Philosophy - Theoretical (Realisation, Science, Logic, Language), grade: 9.9, University of Ibadan, language: English, abstract: What assures us of ‘existences and objects we do not see or feel’? In other words, what leads us to form beliefs about unobserved matters of fact: that the sun will rise tomorrow, that Africa still exists, that the Normans won the Battle of Hastings? What is the correct account of causation? Since this ancient epoch, skepticism has taken a central,- in fact the driving seat- in epistemology with attitude among philosophers, particularly epistemologists, apparently tending to regard a skeptic as a foe rather than a friend, a threat rather than a tool, and a deconstructionist rather than a builder. Ironically, the troubling skepticism forms the foundation of all epistemological enterprise. With the historical development of epistemology, one could possibly establish a self-contradiction any attempt deny the skeptic position of Protagoras- that there are many events that hinder and deny us of an indubitable, sure and stable knowledge. The ancient period prepared the ground for inquiry, but the medieval (dark) age almost collapsed this foundation with recourse to faith and subjection of reason to the dogmatism of the instrument of faith. However, there was resurgence in the modern era of philosophical reflection, with several attempts to restore reason back to its rightful place in philosophy. One of those philosophers who attempted to rescue epistemology from the unphilosophical and dogmatic theologism was David Hume. Of course, the methodic doubt scepticism of Rene Descartes, French rationalist, was pivotal to all other discussions in the modern period. However, Hume’s resurgent effort was to see that inquiry is once again made into the nature of things, including claims about and of God, human life, scientific processes and procedures, causation, and inductive reasoning. Hume’s effort was to mitigate skepticism and forge a veritable mid-point and alliance between what can be known and what cannot be said to be known. Well, his thought on the endorsement of a priori propositions and some part of a posteriori propositions and rejection of some, such as causation and inductive reasoning has earned him such appellation as a ‘thorough going skeptic and empiricist.’ Our concern in the paper is to take a second but critical investigation into Hume’s idea of causation vis-à-vis the appellation. The paper attempts to literally play the devil’s advocate to examine if such appellation could pass for Hume.

Custom and Reason in Hume

Custom and Reason in Hume
Author: Henry E. Allison
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2010-09-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191615528

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Henry Allison examines the central tenets of Hume's epistemology and cognitive psychology, as contained in the Treatise of Human Nature. Allison takes a distinctive two-level approach. On the one hand, he considers Hume's thought in its own terms and historical context. So considered, Hume is viewed as a naturalist, whose project in the first three parts of the first book of the Treatise is to provide an account of the operation of the understanding in which reason is subordinated to custom and other non-rational propensities. Scepticism arises in the fourth part as a form of metascepticism, directed not against first-order beliefs, but against philosophical attempts to ground these beliefs in the "space of reasons." On the other hand, Allison provides a critique of these tenets from a Kantian perspective. This involves a comparison of the two thinkers on a range of issues, including space and time, causation, existence, induction, and the self. In each case, the issue is seen to turn on a contrast between their underlying models of cognition. Hume is committed to a version of the perceptual model, according to which the paradigm of knowledge is a seeing with the "mind's eye" of the relation between mental contents. By contrast, Kant appeals to a discursive model in which the fundamental cognitive act is judgment, understood as the application of concepts to sensory data, Whereas regarded from the first point of view, Hume's account is deemed a major philosophical achievement, seen from the second it suffers from a failure to develop an adequate account of concepts and judgment.

The Sceptical Realism of David Hume

The Sceptical Realism of David Hume
Author: John P. Wright
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1983
Genre: Sceptics
ISBN: 9780719008825

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Righting Epistemology

Righting Epistemology
Author: Bredo Johnsen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2017
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190662778

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Righting Epistemology defends an unrecognized Humean conception of epistemic justification, showing that he is no skeptic, and an argument of his that refutes all extant alternative conceptions. It goes on to trace the development of his thought in Sir Karl Popper, Nelson Goodman, W. V. Quine and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Hume's Theory of Consciousness

Hume's Theory of Consciousness
Author: Wayne Waxman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2003-09-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521541183

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A comprehensive analysis and re-evaluation of Hume's Treatise of Human Nature.

Hume's Skepticism in the Treatise of Human Nature

Hume's Skepticism in the Treatise of Human Nature
Author: Robert J. Fogelin
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2019-04-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 042959030X

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This work, first published in 1985, offers a general interpretation of Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature. Most Hume scholarship has either neglected or downplayed an important aspect of Hume’s position – his scepticism. This book puts that right, examining in close detail the sceptical arguments in Hume’s philosophy.

A Humean Critique of David Hume's Theory of Knowledge

A Humean Critique of David Hume's Theory of Knowledge
Author: Jeremy J. White
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 194
Release: 1998
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780761810896

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A Humean Critique of David Hume's Theory of Knowledge provides the first full-length Aristotilian-Thomistic critique of Hume's most mature and familiar work. While giving Hume proper respect and appreciation for his achievement, Jeremy White engages in a thoughtful critique through an approach based in Hume's own method. He successfully uncovers Hume's unconscious indebtedness to his seventeenth century predecessors, including Locke and Bacon, whom he persistently discredited. White's discovery of Hume's assumptions and premises for building his philosophy provide much enlightenment regarding his ideas. The author's intimacy with the processes of Hume's mind and from where he drew his conclusions translates into a tremendous ease and comfort in gaining an understanding of Hume's epistemology and his underlying metaphysical assumptions.

Cognition and Commitment in Hume's Philosophy

Cognition and Commitment in Hume's Philosophy
Author: Don Garrett Associate Professor of Philosophy University of Utah
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 289
Release: 1996-12-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0198025769

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It is widely believed that Hume often wrote carelessly and contradicted himself, and that no unified, sound philosophy emerges from his writings. Don Garrett demonstrates that such criticisms of Hume are without basis. Offering fresh and trenchant solutions to longstanding problems in Hume studies, Garrett's penetrating analysis also makes clear the continuing relevance of Hume's philosophy.

Hume's Sceptical Enlightenment

Hume's Sceptical Enlightenment
Author: Ryu Susato
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2015-09-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0748699813

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Demonstrates the uniqueness of Hume as an Enlightenment thinker, illustrating how his 'spirit of scepticism' often leads him into seemingly paradoxical positions. This book will be of interest to Hume scholars, intellectual historians of 17th- to 19th-century Europe and those interested in the Enlightenment more widely.

Hume's Critique of Religion: 'Sick Men's Dreams'

Hume's Critique of Religion: 'Sick Men's Dreams'
Author: Alan Bailey
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2013-10-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9400766157

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In this volume, authors Alan Bailey and Dan O’Brien examine the full import of David Hume’s arguments and the context of the society in which his work came to fruition. They analyze the nuanced natured of Hume's philosophical discourse and provide an informed look into his position on the possible content and rational justification of religious belief. The authors first detail the pressures and forms of repression that confronted any 18th century thinker wishing to challenge publicly the truth of Christian theism. From there, they offer an overview of Hume's writings on religion, paying particular attention to the inter-relationships between the various works. They show that Hume's writings on religion are best seen as an artfully constructed web of irreligious argument that seeks to push forward a radical outlook, one that only emerges when the attention shifts from the individual sections of the web to its overall structure and context. Even though there is no explicit denial in any of Hume's published writings or private correspondence of the existence of God, the implications of his arguments often seem to point strongly towards atheism. David Hume was one of the leading British critics of Christianity and all forms of religion at a time when public utterances or published writings denying the truth of Christianity were liable to legal prosecution. His philosophical and historical writings offer a sustained and remarkably open critique of religion that is unmatched by any previous author writing in English. Yet, despite Hume’s widespread reputation amongst his contemporaries for extreme irreligion, the subtle and measured manner in which he presents his position means that it remains far from clear how radical his views actually were.