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UT PHL 301 - Critique of Berkeley and Hume

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PHL 301 1st Edition Lecture 28Outline of Last Lecture I.Simple ideasII.Two kinds of knowledgeIII.Inductive ReasoningOutline of Current LectureI. Berkeley against Skepticisma.Argument against primary qualitiesb.Argument against substanceII.Humea.Esse est Percipib.Bundle Theory of SelfCurrent LectureBerkeley argues that Idealism is the best defense of common sense against Skepticism. His argument against primary qualities is that we cannot judge resemblance to reality. We can only know a thing by projecting it in our mind. Descartes and Locke, by believing that there are objects as they really exist and objects as we perceive them, are saying that we have to step outside of our own minds to see the objects as they “really are.” Berkeley thinks this is impossible and says that primary qualities vary with the perceiver. His argument against substance is that we experience only qualities, not underlying substances. An object adheres in something else, which adheres in something else, and so on to infinity. This leads Berkeley to assume Bundle Theory: that Aristotle’s substances are just bundles of properties. We don’t experience everything holding them together. Hume says that our minds are what bundles them. A thing can exist only if perceived, he claims. However, this seems strange because if something is out of sight, it doesn’t cease existing, even though it is no longer perceived. Hume argues that God can perceive it. Later idealists change his theory to say that to be is to be perceivable. Hume’s argument versus self goes something like this: “I am nothing. I have no soul and no self. All identity, even self, is imposed by us and not there in the world.” He formulates the Bundle Theory of Self: ideas come from impressions, but I have no impression of myself. Therefore, we are nothing but perceptions. A person’s fictitious identity is simply a succession ofThese 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.things, and a person’s imposed identity includes memories, intentions, desires, and similarities. Think of Heraclitus’s saying that you cannot step into the same river twice, both because the river is changing and you are changing. Imagine a ship, which has each board replaced slowly over time until none of the original wood is left. In fact, a collector is able to collect all of the original boards and reassemble the ship. Which one is now the original ship? It’s hard to tell. Now, imagine this happening very quickly, in the period of one weekend, so that essentially, the original ship is taken apart and rebuilt in a different spot, while a new ship stands in its old place. Now, it is pretty easy to tell that the reassembled ship is probably considered the original ship. Hume argues that time is important


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UT PHL 301 - Critique of Berkeley and Hume

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