Empiricism and Induction in Philosophy
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Philosophical Schools
- Empiricism: Dominant in 18th century England, emphasizing knowledge through sensory experience.
- Transcendental Idealism: Contrasts with empiricism, developing later in philosophy.
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Relations of Ideas vs. Matters of Fact
- Relation of Ideas: Statements that are necessarily true (e.g., “2 + 2 = 4”).
- Matters of Fact: Statements based on observation and experience (e.g., “The earth moves around the sun”).
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David Hume
- Regarded as an Empiricist, focusing on understanding knowledge through sensory experience.
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Knowledge and Induction
- Induction: Inference that extends from observed to unobserved phenomena; conclusions are not entailed by premises.
- Hume argues induction cannot justify future events based on past experiences.
- Circular reasoning: The problem of induction questions whether past experiences can justify future predictions.
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Hume’s Critiques
- Beliefs about matters of fact cannot be justified by deduction alone; they rely on experience.
- He characterizes causal relationships: observed but not conclusively known.
- The truth of “2 + 2 = 4” is validated through conceptual analysis rather than empirical evidence.
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Uniformity of Nature
- The principle asserts that future events will resemble past experiences.
- Justifying this principle leads to an infinite regress, challenging the validity of induction.
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Causation and Knowledge
- Causal connections cannot be perceived directly; they rely heavily on habitual association formed through experience.
- Hume distinguishes between two types of knowledge: empirical (based on observation) and rational (dependent on concepts).
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Skepticism about Knowledge
- Hume questions whether we can know anything about events beyond immediate experience.
- He acknowledges that while we infer cause and effect from experience, these inferences may be unfounded.
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Induction Process
- Inductive inferences are not truth-preserving; they do not guarantee conclusions derived from premises.
- They rely on the assumption that nature is uniform.
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Types of Sciences
- Hume classifies sciences based on the justification process: empirical sciences (based on observation) vs. rational theories.