An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume (good e books to read TXT) 📖
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advance can be made except by the faculties which we doubt,
116;
his appeal to the veracity of God is useless, 120 (v. Scepticism,
116-132).
Design
argument from, 105 f. (v. Providence).
Divisibility
of mathematical and physical points, 124.
Doubt
Cartesian, 116, 120 (v. Scepticism A).
Epictetus
34.Epicurean
philosophy, defence of, 102-15;
denial of providence and future state is harmless, 104 (v.
Providence).
Euclid
truths in, do not depend on existence of circles or triangles, 20.
Evidence
moral and natural, 70;
value of human, 82-9 (v. Miracles).
Evil
doctrine of necessity either makes God the cause of evil or denies
existence of evil as regards the whole, 78-81.
Existence
external and perception, 118-9 (v. Scepticism, B, 116-32).
Ex nihilo nihil
132 n.
Experience
(v. Cause A, 23-33);
opposition of reason and experience usual, but really erroneous and
superficial, 36 n.
Infallible, may be regarded as proof, 87 (v. Miracles);
all the philosophy and religion in the world cannot carry us beyond
the usual course of experience, 113.
Extension
50;
a supposed primary quality, 122.
Faith
101, 132.
Fiction
and fact (v. Cause C), 39 f.
Future
inference to, from past, 29 (v. Cause A).
General
ideas, do not really exist, but only particular ideas attached to a
general term, 125 n.
Geography
mental, 8.
Geometry
propositions of certain, as depending only on relations of ideas not
on existence of objects, 20;
gives no knowledge of ultimate causes: only applies laws discovered
by experience, 27.
God
idea of, 14;
no idea of except what we learn from reflection on our own
faculties, 57;
theory that God is cause of all motion and thought, causes being
only occasions of his volition, 54-57;
by doctrine of necessity either there are no bad actions or God is
the cause of evil, 78-81.
Veracity of, appealed to, 120.
And creation of matter, 132 n.
v. Providence, 102-115; Scepticism, 116-132.
Golden
age, 107.
Gravity
26.Habit
(v. Custom, Cause B).
History
use of, 65.
Human
nature, inconstancy a constant character of, 68.
Ideas
A. Origin of, 11-17.
Perceptions divided into impressions and ideas, 11-12;
the mind can only compound the materials derived from outward or
inward sentiment, 13 (cf. 53);
all ideas resolvable into simple ideas copied from precedent
feelings, 14;
deficiency in an organ of sensation produces deficiency in
corresponding idea, 15-16;
suspected ideas to be tested by asking for the impression from
which it is derived, 17 (cf. 49);
idea of reflection, 51;
general ideas, 135 n;
innate ideas, 19 n;
power of will over ideas, 53.
B. Association of, 18-19.
Ideas introduce each other with a certain degree of method and
regularity, 18;
only three principles of association, viz. Resemblance, Contiguity,
and Cause or Effect, 19;
contrariety, 19 n;
production of belief by these principles, 41-43.
C. Correspondence of ideas and course of nature, 44;
relations of ideas one of two possible objects of enquiry, 20;
such relations discoverable by the mere operation of thought, 20,
131;
no demonstration possible except in case of ideas of quantity or
number, 131.
Imagination
11, 39;
and belief, 40.
Impressions
all our more lively perceptions, 12;
the test of ideas, 17, 49.
Incest
peculiar turpitude of explained, 12.
Inconceivability
of the negative, 132 (cf. 20).
Inertia
57 n.
Inference
and similarity, 30, 115 (v. Cause).
Infinite
divisibility, 124 f.
Instances
multiplication of not required by reason, 31.
Instinct
more trustworthy than reasoning, 45;
the basis of all experimental reasoning, 85;
the basis of realism, 118, 121.
Intuitive
opp. mediate reasoning, 2.
La Bruyere
4.Liberty
(v. Necessity, 62-97).
Definition of hypothetical liberty, 73.
Necessary to morality, 77.
Locke
4, 40 n, 50 n, 57 n.
His loose use of ‘ideas,’ 19 n;
betrayed into frivolous disputes about innate ideas by the
Schoolmen, 19 n;
distinction of primary and secondary qualities, 122.
Malebranche
4, 57 n..
Man
a reasonable and active being, 4.
Marriage
rules of, based on and vary with utility, 118.
Mathematics
ideas of, clear and determinate, hence their superiority to moral
and metaphysical sciences, 48;
their difficulty, 48.
Mathematical and physical points, 124 n.
Matter
necessity of, 64;
creation of, 132 n (v. Scepticism A).
Matter-of-fact
contrary of, always possible, 21;
arguments to new, based only on cause and effect, 22.
Metaphysics
not a science, 5-6;
how inferior and superior to mathematics, 48.
Mind
mental geography, 8;
secret springs and principles of, 9;
can only mix and compound materials given by inward and outward
sentiment, 13;
power of will over, 53.
Miracles.
86-101.
Belief in human evidence diminishes according as the event witnessed
is unusual or extraordinary, 89;
difference between extraordinary and miraculous, 89 n;
if the evidence for a miracle amounted to proof we should have one
proof opposed by another proof, for the proof against a
miracle is as complete as possible;
an event is not miraculous unless there is a uniform experience,
that is a proof, against it, 90;
definition of miracle, 90 n;
hence no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless its
falsehood would be more miraculous than the event it
establishes, 91;
as a fact the evidence for a miracle has never amounted to proof, 92;
the passion for the wonderful in human nature, 93;
prevalence of miracles in savage and early periods and their
diminution with civilization, 94;
the evidence for miracles in matters of religion opposed by the
almost infinite number of witnesses for rival religions, 95;
value of human testimony diminished by temptation to pose as a
prophet or apostle, 97;
no testimony for a miracle has ever amounted to a probability, much
less to a proof, and if it did amount to a proof it would be
opposed by another perfect proof, 98;
so a miracle can never be proved so as to be the foundation of a
system of religion, 99;
a conclusion which confounds those who base the Christian religion
on reason, not on faith, 100;
the Christian religion cannot be believed without a miracle which
will subvert the principle of a man’s understanding and give
him a determination to believe what is most contrary to
custom and experience, 101.
Moral
evil (q.v.) 80.
Moral science
30;
inferior to mathematics, 48;
sceptical objections to, 126-7.
Moral evidence easily combined with natural, 70.
Motion
50.Nature
design in, 105 f. (v. Providence),
and the course of our ideas, 44.
State of, a philosophical fiction, 151, 151 n.
Necessary
connexion (v. Cause).
Necessity
two definitions of, 75.
A. and Liberty, 62-81;
the controversy is based on ambiguity, and all mankind have always
been of the same opinion on this subject, 63;
our idea of the necessity of matter arises solely from observed
uniformity and consequent inference, circumstances which are
allowed by all men to exist in respect of human action, 64;
history and knowledge of human nature assume such uniformity, 65,
which does not exclude variety due to education and progress, 66;
irregular actions to be explained by secret operation of contrary
causes, 67;
the inconstancy of human action, its constant character, as of winds
and weather, 68;
we all acknowledge and draw inferences from the regular conjunction
of motives and actions, 69;
history, politics, and morals show this, and the possibility of
combining moral and natural evidence shows that they have a
common origin, 70;
the reluctance to acknowledge the necessity of actions due to a
lingering belief that we can see real connexion behind mere
conjunction, 71;
we should begin with the examination not of the soul and will but of
brute matter, 72;
the prevalence of the liberty doctrine due to a false sensation of
liberty and a false experiment, 72 n;
though this question is the most contentious of all, mankind has
always agreed in the doctrine of liberty, if we mean by it
that hypothetical liberty which consists in a power of
acting or not acting according to the determinations of our
will, and which can be ascribed to every one who is not a
prisoner, 73;
liberty when opposed to necessity, and not merely to constraint, is
the same as chance, 74.
B. Both necessity and liberty are necessary to morality, this
doctrine of necessity only alters our view of matter and so
is at least innocent, 75;
rewards and punishments imply the uniform influence of motives, and
connexion of character and action: if necessity be denied,
a man may commit any crime and be no worse for it, 76;
liberty also essential to morality, 77.
Objection that doctrine of necessity and of a regular chain of
causes either makes God the cause of evil, or abolishes evil
in actions, 78;
Stoic answer, that the whole system is good, is specious but
ineffectual in practice, 79;
no speculative argument can counteract the impulse of our natural
sentiments to blame certain actions, 80;
how God can be the cause of all actions without being the author of
moral evil is a mystery with which philosophy cannot deal,
81.Negative
inconceivability of, 132.
Newton
57 n.
Nisus
52 n, 60 n.
Number
the object of demonstration, 131.
Occasional causes
theory of, 55.
Parallelism
between thought and course of nature, 44-5.
Perception
and external objects, 119 f. (v. Scepticism, Impression,
Idea).
Philosophy
moral, two branches of, abstruse and practical, 1-5;
gratifies innocent curiosity, 6;
metaphysics tries to deal with matters inaccessible to human
understanding, 6.
True, must lay down limits of understanding, 7 (cf. 113);
a large part of, consists in mental geography, 8;
may hope to resolve principles of mind into still more general
principles, 9.
Natural, only staves off our ignorance a little longer, as moral or
metaphysical philosophy serves only to discover larger
portions of it, 26;
academical, or sceptical, flatters no bias or passion except love of
truth, and so has few partisans, 34;
though it destroy speculation, cannot destroy action, for nature
steps in and asserts her rights, 34;
moral, inferior to mathematics in clearness of ideas, superior in
shortness of arguments, 48.
Controversies in, due to ambiguity of terms, 62.
Disputes in, not be settled by appeal to dangerous consequences of a
doctrine, 75.
Speculative, entirely indifferent to the peace of society and
security of government, 104 (cf. 114).
All the philosophy in the world, and all the religion in the world,
which is nothing but a species of philosophy, can never
carry us beyond the usual course of experience, 113.
Happiness of, to have originated in an age and country of freedom
and toleration, 102.
Points
physical, indivisible, 124 n.
Power
50 f, 60 n. (v. Cause D).
Probability
46 f. (v. Cause, B).
Probable
arguments, 38, 46 n.
Production
50 n.
Promises
not the foundation of justice, 257.
Proof
46 n, 86-101 (v. Miracles, Demonstrative).
Providence
102-115 (v. God).
The sole argument for a divine existence is from the marks of design
in nature; must not infer greater power in the cause than is
necessary to produce the observed effects, nor argue from
such an inferred cause to any new effects which have not
been observed, 105;
so must not infer in God more power, wisdom, and benevolence than
appears in nature, 106;
so it is unnecessary to try and save the honour of the Gods by
assuming the intractability of matter or the observance
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