MONTERO, DAVE C.

ROGAZTIONISTI DEL CUORE DI GESU

2ND YEAR – 2020-2021

The Epistemology of David Hume

David Hume (1711-1776) is a Scottish philosopher
known for his Skepticism, Empiricism, and his
writings against religious beliefs. Moreover, he
is well-acknowledged in the study of knowledge which
we call Gnoseology or Epistemology. Whereas then we
are presented by at least three of Hume’s
Epistemological Issues that makes him write a book
entitled The Treatises (1739). There he argued that
it is (1)impossible for a person to have a complete
knowledge of some necessary philosophical ideas,
(2)that one’s understanding are limited, and (3)
that there are views which are called erroneous
where one should not rely with their knowledge. And
so, Hume came to think that there are things that are somehow very
problematic to be considered as knowledge, such as philosophical ideas
on Space, Time, Cause and Effect, external objects, personal identity,
free-will and offcourse, God. These are the things that on the point of
view of Hume are dubious or skeptical and are not much worth of
consideration in knowledge. So, what is knowledge for David Hume? For
David Hume, knowledge is not base on induction, and when we say induction
it means a kind of logical reasoning base on premises which supports the
conclusion. Hume’s deny this kind of knowledge by saying that one’s
knowledge are based on past experiences. Hence Hume gives us a
“posteriori” knowledge which means a knowledge that is after experience
rather than “a priori” or knowledge that is before experience so to say.
So, this knowledge that Hume’s want us to look at is what we call
Empiricism-a knowledge that came primarily and only on experience. Hume
in the other hand denies Reason as the full-length source of our
knowledge, since reason will not give us a full assurance of what we
know, and what we already know has a tendency of being erroneous at all.
Hence, knowledge is only possible to attain by the help of our
impressions or sense-data which may also be our experience of the things
occur around us. For through experience we have the so-called impressions
which becomes the foundation of one’s knowledge through and through. For
we also only know what our senses would tell us, for it is impossible
for man to know already the things which are not included in his sense-
data or somehow acknowledge in his impressions. Therefore, Experience
has a great role in verifying what we know and if we know that we know
It is in our experience that we know. And so at the end of the day,
David Hume was regarded as the greatest skeptic whoever lived for he
dared to doubt everything he knows especially those that does not belong
in his experience or sense-data which includes religious beliefs and
phenomena, miracles, mystical visions and voices and the like. As he
quoted: “A WISE MAN PROPORTIONS HIS BELIEFS TO THE EVIDENCE.”

[Type here]
[Type here]