30 Phil, Chapter 27: From Aristotle’s virtue to Mill’s greatest happiness, ethical systems have explored both sides of the “good intent-good results” approach to morality. In modern philosophy, most have decided there is no single rule to ethics. For many, a holistic approach is the key. The basic idea is to understand and avoid fear-based ethical […]
30 Phil, Chapter 27: Categorized within Consequentialism, fear-based ethics focuses on “good results” and are measured with a big stick–acts are not primarily measured by merit. Karma and Divine Command Theory are two examples of this faulty ethical system. With Karma, you fear a negative rebirth, and with Divine Command Theory, you fear God’s wrath.
30 Phil, Chapter 27: In this new look at Hume’s idea of impressions and its relation to innate knowledge, I position instincts as innate knowledge with three types: basic, developmental, and situational.
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30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 71: Hume’s Fork. Hume’s Fork is a philosophical tool that categorizes meaningful statements into two distinct types: relations of ideas and matters of fact. It offers a clear demarcation between different kinds of truths. Relations of ideas are statements that are necessarily true, such as “all bachelors are unmarried.”
30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 70: The Problem of Induction. The logic behind induction is inherently circular, hence, the problem of induction. We expect future events to be like past events because this has generally been true in the past. This justification itself is inductive, making the whole process circular and self-referential. Although induction
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30 Phil, Chapter 27, Hume, Touchstone 69: Skeptical Empiricism. Skeptical Empiricism challenges the idea of innate knowledge, asserting all we know stems from our experiences.
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12 Generations Ago 30 Phil, Chapter 27: Hume and Skeptical Empiricism The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher and historian Hume was a leading exponent of empiricism. The belief that all human knowledge derives solely from experience. Some of my favorite Hume quotes: “A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.” -A Treatise of Human Nature, 1739
