David Hume’s test of the Cartesian epistemological framework

David Hume This post follows upon this post. Hume's approach to philosophy was both more commonsensical than Descartes' and less physicalist than Hobbes'. Much like Descartes', Hume's philosophy begins with questions of cognition rather than being. An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was written primarily as a scrutiny of the operations of the mind. This endeavor … Continue reading David Hume’s test of the Cartesian epistemological framework →

Empiricist epistemology – Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes This post will make more sense if the reader reads this first. Empiricist epistemology Thomas Hobbes began several major works of political philosophy by first discussing the nature of sensation and its underlying significance for understanding political matters. Similarly, David Hume's An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding is simply that, an investigation of human … Continue reading Empiricist epistemology – Thomas Hobbes →

Hume’s problem of induction

David Hume's problem of induction makes for an interesting case study in which to see the division between intellectualism and conceptualism play out. Below I state what Hume takes the problem to be. Elsewhere, I discuss Popper's conceptualist treatment of Hume's problem. The problem stated In An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Hume examines the sources … Continue reading Hume’s problem of induction →