David Hume

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the philosophy of David Hume, noting that he gave precedence to what he called sense impressions. The paper explains that Hume felt that humans cannot use the process of cause and effect to understand their universe because the world is constantly changing. The paper further explains Humes belief that, although human are able to form ideas through their experiences, their knowledge is limited because one event simply does not follow another. The paper also presents examples of Hume's conclusion that people are not able to experience the power, which starts one event after another through their sense impressions; therefore, human beings are unable to truly know the world.

From the Paper:

"Hume continues on with the third principle of association, cause and effect. Hume restates that cause and effects are ways in which we organize our sense impressions, since one follows another. To Hume, this kind of contiguity that one sense impression follows another creates a sense of togetherness, and that because one sense impression always follows another, we have become accustom to cause and effect. An example of this is how the first time we put our hand in front of a fire, our hand gets hot and feels the heat."

Sample of Sources Used:

• David Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. (Second Edition) Edited by Eric Steinberg (1993)

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