Question 1

For Hume, "all the materials of thinking are derived either from our outward or inward sentiment. Or, to express myself in philosophical language, all our statements are subject to verification."

Accepted Answer

Hume actually stated, "all the materials of thinking are derived either from our outward or inward sentiment," but the part about "all our statements are subject to verification" reflects a verification principle more closely associated with logical positivism, not Hume's philosophy.

Question 2

Hume says "When we entertain, therefore, any suspicion that a philosophical term is employed without any meaning or idea (as is but too frequent), we need but enquire from what impression is that supposed idea derived?"

Accepted Answer

Hume is stating that when we doubt the meaning of a philosophical term, we should trace it back to the original impression from which it was derived, in order to clarify its meaning.

Question 3

For Hume, all the objects of human reason or enquiry may naturally be divided into two kinds: fallacies and proof.

Accepted Answer

Hume divides the objects of human reason or enquiry into two kinds: relations of ideas and matters of fact. He does not mention fallacies or proof as categories.

Question 4

Hume says, "The contrary of every matter of fact is still possible; because it can never imply a contradiction."

Accepted Answer

Hume argues that there is no logical contradiction in supposing that something could happen differently than it actually did, and therefore the contrary of any matter of fact remains logically possible.

Question 5

For Hume, all reasoning concerning matters of fact rest on the relation of major premise and minor premise.

Accepted Answer

Hume argued that all reasoning concerning matters of fact is ultimately founded not on logical deduction (major and minor premises) but on the relation of cause and effect, which we learn from experience.

Question 6

Hume uses the term a priori to mean "resting on impressions."

Accepted Answer

Hume uses the term a priori to refer to ideas or principles that are independent of experience, whereas he uses the term "impressions" to refer to the raw sensory data that we derive from experience. Therefore, the statement that Hume uses the term a priori to mean "resting on impressions" is inaccurate.

Question 7

Hume tells us that "causes and effects are discoverable, not by reason but by experience."

Accepted Answer

Hume's philosophy of empiricism states that knowledge comes from experience, including knowledge of causality. He argues that we cannot deduce causality from reason alone but rather we gain knowledge of causality through repeated observation and experience of the connection between two events.

Question 8

For Hume, "the effect is totally different from the cause, and consequently certainty in knowledge is impossible."

Accepted Answer

Hume argued that cause and effect cannot be known through reason alone because the effect is not contained in the cause, but he did not claim that certainty in knowledge is impossible; rather, he suggested that our knowledge of cause and effect comes from experience and habit.

Question 9

Hume says, "all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience; and that all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the supposition that the future will be conformable to the past." However, Hume argues that the proof of this last supposition by probable arguments, or arguments regarding existence, must be going in a circle.

Accepted Answer

Hume argues that our knowledge of cause and effect is derived from experience, and therefore we cannot prove that the future will be conformable to the past based solely on past experience (i.e. by probable arguments), as this would be circular reasoning.

Question 10

For Hume, "all inferences from experience suppose, as their foundation, the future is clouded by a veil of ignorance."

Accepted Answer

Hume argued that our inferences from experience are based on the assumption that the future will resemble the past, not on a veil of ignorance about the future.

Question 11

Hume argues that we come to expect that the future will resemble the past because of custom or habit.

Accepted Answer

Hume famously argued that our expectation that the future will resemble the past is not based on reason or empirical evidence, but rather on custom or habit. This is known as the problem of induction, and it casts doubt on our ability to make reliable predictions about the future based on past experience.

Question 12

What does Hume mean when he says, "No object ever discovers, by the qualities which appear to the senses, either the causes which produced it, or the effects which will arise from it; nor can our reason, unassisted by experience, ever draw any inference concerning real existence and matter of fact"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does Hume mean when he says,...

Question 13

What are some examples that Hume uses to support his claim that "In vain, therefore, should we pretend to determine any single event, or infer any cause or effect, without the assistance of observation and experience"?

Accepted Answer

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Question 14

Hume says, "all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience; and that all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the supposition that the future will be conformable to the past. To endeavor, therefore, the proof of this last supposition by probable arguments, or arguments regarding existence, must be evidently going in a circle, and taking that for granted, which is the very point in question." How does Hume support this claim?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Hume says, "all arguments concerning existence are...

Question 15

Give some examples of Hume's distinction between relations of ideas and matters of fact.

Accepted Answer

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Question 16

Why does Hume claim that "The contrary of every matter of fact is still possible, because it can never imply a contradiction"?

Accepted Answer

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Question 17

Why does Hume claim that "causes and effects are discoverable, not by reason but by experience"?

Accepted Answer

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Question 18

Why does Hume argue that "all inferences from experience suppose, as their foundation, that the future will resemble the past"? What are the consequences of this position?

Accepted Answer

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Question 19

Outline some of Hume's arguments for his claim that we come to expect that the future will resemble the past because of custom or habit.

Accepted Answer

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Question 20

According to Kant, all knowledge begins with ...

Accepted Answer

According to Kant, all knowledge begins with experience, specifically with sensory experience. He believed that our senses provide the raw material for knowledge, but our understanding and reasoning structures that material into knowledge.

Quiz 2: Plato Knowledge Is Recollection