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A Refutation Of Hume's Attack On The Principle Of Causality II
4/7/2008 | Laissez-Faire Capitalist

Posted on 04/07/2008 7:40:21 AM PDT by Laissez-faire capitalist

David Hume was a Scottish philospoher well known for his attack on the principle of causality - the principle that nothing can occur or exist without a cause.

He believed that although one event (set of impressions) always preceded another, this did not prove that the first event caused the second. The constant conjunction of two events, he said, built up the expectation that the second event would take place after the first. But this was nothing more than a strong belief or habit of mind taught by experience. One could never prove that there were causal connections among impressions.

It must be noted that Hume believed that all knowledge came from experience and all experiences existed only in the mind as individual units of experience. Whatever a person directly experienced was nothing more than the contents of his own consciousness or mind.

If the expectation that a second event takes place after the first is a stong belief or habit of mind taught by experience, then Empirical evidence (non-impressionary evidnce) id needed to provide the cause of the effect.

With the aforemntioned in mind, we need Empirical evidence that the Singularity which expanded and is still expanding (our universe) is an effect without cause. We need evidence that our universe is an expanding singularity that came from nothing. But, how can one observe, test and confirm - provide cause - if the Singularity came from nothing? How does one observe, test and confirm that which does not exist?

If this universe (the expanding Singularity) has always existed, how does this line up with Cosmological evidence that this universe had a beginning and will come to an end, since there isn't enough matter in this universe for it to contract?

If this now expanding Singularity (our universe) came about through natural means, what preceded it? How did it come about? From nothing? Did it come about through purely natural means as well, and on and on Ad Infinitum?


TOPICS: Books/Literature; Education; History; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: agnosticism; atheism; causality; davidhume; firstcause; hume; philosophy; religion; theism
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To: All; snarks_when_bored
If, according to Hume, all knowledge comes from experience, and all knowledge exists as individual units of experience, when did Hume experience effect without cause, or (the example often given) an eight ball moving without the cue ball hitting it (or any outside cause not hitting it)? How then did he acquire knowledge that effect can occur without cause?

Further, what Empirical evidence did Hume give to support the contention that (for example) an eight ball can move absolutely without any outside cause?

21 posted on 04/07/2008 10:20:17 AM PDT by Laissez-faire capitalist (Keep working! Welfare cases and their liberal enablers are counting on you!)
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To: samtheman

ping


22 posted on 04/09/2008 8:26:36 AM PDT by kinsman redeemer (The real enemy seeks to devour what is good.)
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To: kinsman redeemer

Hume says that we cannot ever observe causation in any situation, and therefore cannot say that causation exists. He goes so far as to say the word cause is completely meaningless.

Rational thought depends entirely on one thought CAUSING the next thought. The thought of there being no observable causation CAUSES the thought of there actually being no causation.

Do to this simple fact, Hume’s argument is not even possible to make without assuming causation and therefore rational thought actually exist.

ZING!


23 posted on 06/03/2009 9:57:36 PM PDT by Frozen chicken
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