PHIL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Empiricism, Depth Perception
Sorry there aren’t a lot of notes I wasn’t hugely paying attention this class...
Descartes review
● I exist
● Every effect has an adequate cause
● God exists
● Material objects exist
Hume declares all of these things have a basis for rational doubt
Hume - the Self
● “A bundle of perceptions”
● If “I” is cast into doubt, then “I exist” is cast into doubt
● Are you the same person at 80 that you are at 18? Do you change?
Hume - Causation
● Every happening has a cause - how do we know? Is it irrefutable?
● Our knowledge of cause and effect is derived from perception
● What do we experience?
● You only see a conjunction of events
● Do you see a necessary connection between the cause and the effect?
● Constant conjunction, yes. Necessary connection, no.
● Do you ever perceive a necessary connection between two things? No.
● For this reason he does not believe it is certain that Descartes has proved God’s
existence.
Hume - Material Objects
● Naive realist
● The person perceives something but it does not really exist. It appears in the back of
your eyes
● Object of awareness is in the mind
● Reason - rationalist
● Rationalism - reason can ascertain some truths
● Empiricism - all knowledge is founded on sensory input
● Hume begins with empiricist notions, Descartes is rationalist
● Hume - there is nothing we can know with absolute certainty
● Reason #1 for material objects
○ We are not in contact with them.
● Reason #2 for material objects
○ Ex. Colors, sounds, tastes, smells
○ Things that appear inherent in the object can be deceiving
○ Colors are just light rays interpreted by the brain
○ We already know that lots of things that appear to exist externally, don’t.
● Reason #3
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Document Summary
Sorry there aren"t a lot of notes i wasn"t hugely paying attention this class Hume declares all of these things have a basis for rational doubt. If i is cast into doubt, then i exist is cast into doubt. Our knowledge of cause and effect is derived from perception. You only see a conjunction of events. For this reason he does not believe it is certain that descartes has proved god"s existence. The person perceives something but it does not really exist. It appears in the back of your eyes. Object of awareness is in the mind. Rationalism - reason can ascertain some truths. Empiricism - all knowledge is founded on sensory input. Hume begins with empiricist notions, descartes is rationalist. Hume - there is nothing we can know with absolute certainty. We are not in contact with them. Things that appear inherent in the object can be deceiving. Colors are just light rays interpreted by the brain.
