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 →

Descartes and the epistemological turn

Rene Descartes Traditional epistemology Epistemology is the area of philosophy that seeks to answer questions about our knowing, how that knowing is justified, and how grounds for justification are established. Epistemological naturalists often use the phrase traditional epistemology to describe the Cartesian tradition of philosophical inquiry, which began by asking epistemological questions prior to any … Continue reading Descartes and the epistemological turn →