Hume:
-skeptic
-not relativist
-truth is objective
-In Hume's theory, there are two qualities of perceptions(any mental phenomena)
#1-Impressions- lively perceptions; they force themselves on us; detailed; we are passive in this process
#2-Ideas- faint copies of impressions; fewer details; we have active control over these; used in thinking(imagination, memory, etc)
-Empericist's Test to see if any idea is real: "From whence(what impression) is the supposed idea derived?"
-Hume uses this test to disprove cause and effect.
- "If you don't have perceptions to base an idea on, it is an illusion."
-Hume breaks cause and effect down as:
#1-Priority in Time: cause must happen before effect
#2-Contiguity: the objects have to touch(connected without gaps)
#3-Neccassary Connection: if a then b
(if a happens, it is impossible for b not to happen)
-It is here, with neccassary connection, that Hume finds his problem. He finds that there are no perceptions to base the idea of neccassary connection on, therefore, it must be an illusion.
- Hume makes distinction between A. Relations of Ideas and B. Matters of Fact
A.Relations of Ideas: about interaction of ideas; math, geometry, logic, definitions,etc.(a priori; through reason alone)
example: A bachelor is an unmarried male.
B.Matters of Fact: truths of the world; qualities
-like:"the weather is cold today" or
"this piece of chalk is small"
(a posteriori truths)
example: John is a bachelor.
-Hume:"There is no cause and effect!"