David Hume, Enquiry Concerning Understanding | Empiricism, Ideas, Impressions | Core Concepts

This is a video in my new Core Concepts series -- designed to provide students and lifelong learners a brief discussion focused on one main concept from a classic philosophical text and thinker.

This Core Concept video focuses on David Hume's work, the Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, and discusses the basics of his Empiricist epistemology, specifically how it bears upon the relation between ideas and impressions.

My videos are used by students, lifelong learners, other professors, and professionals to learn more about topics, texts, and thinkers in philosophy, religious studies, literature, social-political theory, critical thinking, and communications. These include college and university classes, British A-levels preparation, and Indian civil service (IAS) examination preparation

(Amazon links are associate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

#hume #empiricism #philosophy #modernphilosophy #modernity #skepticism #psychology #experience #davidhume #understanding

[tylerwebb]

Excellent video, Dr. Sadler. I really appreciate your clear explication of Hume's empirical rule here.

[thomasplackal]

Thank you Dr. Sadler. I really enjoyed the lecture.

[Shwetang.]

Omg this is true I cannot break down the text…just the way it’s put together i get puzzled so easily. 😅 I really appreciate your uploads

[Scooter-qz]

I have an objection to impressions and ideas. If all of our ideas are merely memories of our impressions, and our ideas can be worked with through other ideas such as changeability, then from where does the idea of logical necessity derive. Necessity of this sort is never experienced in any way by us since the things we deem necessary through experience, e.g. this cup will fall if i drop it, are not truly logically necessary as such. Now Hume may say necessity of this sort arises from the common idea we have of necessity combined with the idea of indefinite addition or extension. But then I would respond that we can imagine logical necessity as a distinct thing as opposed to being a composite idea. For example, Descartes showed by necessity we cannot doubt we exist so absolute logical necessity cannot be doubted either. But extension or addition as an idea can be. So, if this is indeed a composite then how can I imagine the idea without another component of that idea. It's like imagining a unicorn without having the idea of a horse included.

[briannamorales]

What are pros and cons of Hume's theory?