The theory of ideas

THE THEORY OF IDEAS

2007

David Hume was Scottish philosopher born in Edinburgh in 1711 Initially , it was determined that he should study law and ultimately join his father 's firm at age eighteen however , he discovered the Science of Thought ' which became his obsession ever after (694 Among his acquaintances were key figures of the Enlightenment such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith . He his generally considered the Father of the Scottish Enlightenment as well as a central figure in British empirical philosophy

His first work , A Treatise of

Human Nature , was first published in 1739 when Hume was only twenty-eight years of age . An Enquiry Concerning Human Nature was essentially a simplified revision of this work , written in 1748 and published about three years later . Generally , the Enquiry is considered a more mature work , containing the sum of Hume 's life experiences others prefer the youthful exuberance of the Treatise According to Hume himself , however , it was the Enquiry that truly represented his philosophical sentiments and principles (696 ) - which is what we should expect , since by that time he 'd had several years in which to refine and clarify his philosophies

To Hume , philosophy was either natural ' or moral ' In the former all objects of human enquiry were either factual (as in science , or any subject the validity of which can be proved through empirical means to be universal . The latter is theoretical - essentially , the world of ideas . His main thesis is that very little in the way of perceived knowledge can be derived from the idea that issues , things and events that we observe with our senses are somehow related simply because they occur or are commonly found together . Since true knowledge of connections are the result of mental habit , the only rational way to view the world is with a good , healthy dose of skepticism . In Section XI , Hume writes : It is never possible to deduce evaluative conclusions from factual premises (760

As humans , our association of ideas fall into one of three categories which Hume calls Resemblance (the physical similarities between one thing and another , Contiguity (temporal and /or physical proximity ) and Cause and Effect . Our perceptions of the world on the other hand , are either Thoughts and Ideas - fully formed mental concepts and constructs - or Impressions , which essentially consists of the initial sensory input entering the brain before it has had an opportunity to process and make rational sense of the data , or what we might call sensations Hume denies that there are any ideas in the empirical world that are not ultimately derived from impressions every idea and thought consists of different combinations of impressions received by the brain prior to the formation of the thought or idea . For example , the thought of a Deity (Hume himself was an atheist ) is based on prior conceptions of ourselves and augmented to an infinite degree in every tradition , it is nearly impossible to conceive of a god without some kind of anthropomorphic attributes...