PHIL 437A: Study Questions for Week #6

1. According to Hume, could we have an idea of a self that is the same through time? Explain. According to Hume, what is our idea of self?

2. Why does Hume think we mistakenly believe that objects and the self remain the same through change? Explain the role of resemblance, common end, and sympathy of parts.

3. What kind of impression is the idea of the self derived from? What is the role of memory and mental causation in the development of the idea of personal identity?

4. How does Hume's Appendix modify his account of personal identity?

5. What does Hume mean by the following: "Very refin'd reflections have little or no influence upon us; and yet we do not, and cannot establish it for a rule, that they ought not have any influence; which implies a manifest contradiction"(T 1.4.7.7). What is the contradiction?

6. What is the solution to Hume's melancholy?

7. What is the advantage of philosophy over superstition?

8. What does Hume mean by a true skeptic?