PHL 301 1st Edition Lecture 27Outline of Last Lecture I.Formula of the Law of NatureII.Obligationsa.Perfectb.ImperfectIII.Practical Test Outline of Current LectureI. Simple ideasII.Two kinds of knowledgeIII.Inductive ReasoningCurrent LectureHume is an Empiricist who partakes in some Idealist ideas. He contends that simple ideas can be traced back to experience. He says that simple ideas come from simple impressions, and we can represent them exactly. However, ideas are usually complex. Hume uses the Empiricist Method, which is to analyze complex ideas into simple ideas. We can find the origins of simple ideas in experience, and the content of the idea lies in the simple impressions from which it comes. Then, simple ideas are the most concrete, and the more abstract an idea is, the more likely it is nonsense. Impressions are strong, though. There are two kinds of knowledge: analytic a priori, and synthetic a posteriori. Analytic a priori truths, which are abstract reasoning, include logic, definitions, and mathematics. Synthetics a posteriori truths are ethics and natural science, which is a matter of fact and existence.Hume argues against Rationalism by saying that we move from particular to universal by induction, from instances to generalization. What justifies this move? Hume says nothing. We make inductive inferences. For example, all observed ravens have been black, so all ravens are black. However, this leads to the Scandal of Induction. Justification for inductive reasoning is nota priori. It is not necessary; the next raven might be white. Justification is not a posteriori, either. That would be an appeal to experience. For example, “ravens have been black for my whole life, so the next raven must be black” is inductive reasoning. Why can we trust inductive reasoning? Hume considers the answer, “because it has worked up until now, so it must These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.continue to work.” This circular reference of justifying induction by induction is known as Hume’s Circle. Hume’s tangent is that there is no rational justification for inductive inference. It is based on habit and custom rather than
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