Hume's Skepticism

 

 

Book 1, Part 4:

 

Section 1:  Skepticism with Regard to Reason

 

Reason is a kind of cause.  What is the natural effect?

How knowledge degenerates into probability.

If Reason destroys its own products, what is the source of all belief?

 

Section 2:  Skepticism with Regard to the Senses

 

para. 1:  What does Hume mean by "body"?

This entire section is not to convince us to stop believing in bodies, which would be vain, but to clarify why it is that we believe in bodies.

 

para. 2:  the concept of body can be divided in two parts:  (a) continued existence and (b) distinct existence.  Distinct existence itself has two parts:  (i) external and (b) independent

 

The three possible causes: 

 

paras. 4-13:  It's not the senses. 

 

para. 14:  It's not Reason.

 

paras. 15 ff.  It is the imagination. 

 

How does the imagination give us the idea of continued and distinct existence?  [This is a deep question.]

 

In his explanation, Hume reverses the order: 

 

paras. 20-22:  What is responsible for our belief in distinct existence?  Coherence.

 

paras. 23-24:  What is responsible for our belief in continued existence?  Constancy.

 

The puzzle:  Reasoning about bodies is not an instance of Humean causal reasoning.  Why not?

How then, does the imagination do it[WJT1] ?

 

What is the vulgar view of bodies?

What experiment disconfirms the vulgar view[WJT2] ?

 

What is the philosophical view?  The opinion of double existence.

 

What is Hume's official view?

But if we could never have an idea of "body", how could we believe in bodies?

 

The paradox:  Does Hume think that his arguments show that it is impossible to have the idea of body? 

Does he think that his philosophy will stop us from believing in bodies[WJT3] ?

 

Section 3:  More on the idea of substance and the idea of accident:  fictions, faculties, and occult qualities.

 

 

Section 4:  The Argument Against the Primary/Secondary Quality Distinction.  No qualities are more real than any others.

 

What is the ultimate judge of all systems of philosophy?  What is the test that Hume applies to determine which products of it to trust? 

 

How does Hume attempt to undermine the primary/secondary quality distinction?


 [WJT1]para. 22 then 42-44

 [WJT2]para. 45

 [WJT3]para. 52 and 57