David Hume's Theory Of Causality: An Overview

Discuss about the Philosophy and Economics, The philosopher is known to have been one of the philosophers who have been writing in English and is known to be the last of the members of the triumvirate who were members of the British triumvirate.

Introduction to David Hume

David Hume is one of the most celebrated philosophers of the 18^th century. The philosopher is known to have been one of the philosophers who have been writing in English and is known to be the last of the members of the triumvirate who were members of the British triumvirate. The major works that were composed by the celebrated philosopher refers to the works entitled A Treatise of Human Nature published in the year 1739 and the book entitled An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding published in the year 1748. The philosopher aimed at challenging the then traditional beliefs in the several ways that led to shock the readers of the given time period as well as aimed to draw the attention of the philosophers who have been residing in the society till date. The philosopher is known for the discussion and the opinions that he had put forth in the matters that deal with the theories of causality, the problems that might occur in personal identity and induction as well. The theory of causality as stated by Hume is known to be partially correct as described by the philosophers in the current days. The claim that “the Humean definition of causality is correct” is not always applicable.

The following paper attempts a discussion on the Humean theory of causality. The essay opens with the discussion on the theory of causality as stated by the celebrated Scottish philosopher David Hume. The essay further proceeds to deal with the implementation of the theory of causality in the regular lives of the people. The essay further proceeds to discuss the limitations of the implementation of the theory of causality as discussed by David Hume.

The theory of causality as discussed by the famous philosopher David Hume refers to the theory of reasoning as is present within the everyday functions of the human beings. The causality is involved in all the exercises that are undertaken by the human beings in their daily activities all over the world. The causality as stated by Hume is considered to be a presupposition within every given form of argument that is undertaken by the human beings in their lifetime. The causality as stated by Hume is known to have been implemented in any given sphere of argument that is implemented by the concerned human being. The theory of causality as discussed by the philosophers is well known to have been holding an important place in the subject of philosophy and majorly in the matters that are related to the philosophy of science. According to the theory proposed by Hume, causality is known to be the cementing factor of the universe. This implies that the causality is considered to be one of the factors that have been holding the universe together since time immemorial. The relation the body to the mind is dependent on the understanding of the actual nature of the causes. The aftereffect of the understanding of the causes also affect the various factors like the relation of the minds to the bodies, the ways in which the free will might work. It also affects that the influence of the ideas over the actions that are undertaken by the human beings. The causality also affects the changes that are produced in the bodies due to their association with the other bodies in discussion.

The Theory of Causality as Discussed by Hume

The theory of causality tends to implore the fact that the entire mankind attempts to put forth a causative approach towards the actions that it performs for the others. The theory of causality implements a natural attribution that is observed in the relationship that exists between the cause and the effect of the phenomena. This is however found to be an anterior element in the philosophical analysis and statements on the given topic. The question of causality within the human mind arises when they tend to discuss the actual meaning of statement like “B is caused by A”. The answer to the given question is known to be the concept of the causation in the given case. The implementation of the theories in the philosophical sense puts forth various questions that are deeper than is relevant in the first place.

It is observed that the philosophers that existed before Hume stated the fact that the propositions on causation to be a necessary truth were considered to be a priori statements. These philosophers claimed that there is a cause behind every single action and that certain particular actions have certain particular effects. The philosophers prior to Hume were observed to have prior knowledge of the cause as well as the effect of certain actions. They claimed that the logical realm runs alongside the realms of causality. The philosophers of the era prior to Hume, Spinoza for example, considered metaphysics to be a universal account. The philosophers stated that the universe had developed from several definitions especially as a matter that needs nothing externa; for its being or conception in addition to some assumptions that were evident in themselves.

Thus, it might be said that the three major features of the older account of the causality included the features that stated the fact that the propositions that were maintained about causation were known to be necessary truths. It also stated that the propositions about certain cases were known to be a priori conditions. The philosophers practicing the old school of causality stated that the propositions that were stated regarding certain cases involved the causal as well as the logical connections. The old school of philosophers on the issue further stated that the rationalist metaphysics that were practiced by the philosophers like Spinoza were made possible due to the nature of the causality that was practiced during those times.

The most famous of the various analyses put forth by Hume were implemented in the spheres of the causality and the apprehension of the humans.  These two analyses were the most significant of all the philosophical analyses that were conducted in the given period and are known to have been continuing to bear almost the similar amount of significance in the present days as well. the significance of Hume’s study lies in his realization of the importance of the analysis of the apprehension of the human beings. During the time of Hume’s active philosophical career, the causality was utilized as a mode of being the ways that enable guaranteeing the veracity of the world. Thus, the various questions on the causality principle might lead to serious consequences for the knowledge on the world.

The Limitations of Causality Implementation

The epistemology as implemented by the celebrated Scottish philosopher, David Hume aimed at the discussion on the epistemology from the scientific point of view. Epistemology is a philosophical field of study that generally deals with the nature as well as the processes of the knowledge acquirement. Hume had in his study incorporated the scientific factors of study on the nature of the knowledge acquirement that is followed by the human beings. This includes the knowledge possessed by the human beings on objects that are material like the several worldly objects as well as the abstract objects like the various universals that are existent within the given area. The philosopher had also included in his study the knowledge of the person regarding the interactions that are taking place among the human beings.

The celebrated philosopher is known to have implemented all the various ways in which the causal reasoning of the human being might follow from reason. According to the philosopher the causal reasoning should not be referred to as the reasoning that is existent between the ideas and the relations that are concerned. The effects of the various events are known to have been different from the causes and might not always be occurring together. The philosopher had further argued that the causes of certain effects are not always revealed thereby leading to the conditions wherein there might not exist any connection among the two conditions. This reveals that the causal relationship as discussed by the philosopher, David Hume, is not necessarily a priori reasoning.

However, in many cases it might be observed that the causes are often related to the effects. This is majorly revealed through the implementation of the experience of the given person on the matter rather than the knowledge of the given person on the reason behind the concerned connection between the cause and the effect of the concerned action. The relation the body to the mind is dependent on the understanding of the actual nature of the causes. The aftereffect of the understanding of the causes also affect the various factors like the relation of the minds to the bodies, the ways in which the free will might work. It also affects that the influence of the ideas over the actions that are undertaken by the human beings. The theory of causality holds true in cases wherein the future instances hold similarity with the past instances. In these cases, the person making the claim is known to have been majorly dependent on the experiences in order to deal with the future course of actions. The reason that is cited by the person for predicting a certain course of action should be based on the facts and should be established on the basis of arguments and reasoning. The reasons that are provided only on the basis of the intuition are not accepted as reasons that are worthy enough of consideration.

The Impact of Hume's Theory on Epistemology

In this scenario might be put forth one of the most favorite examples of David Hume. This example is based on the belief of the earthly residents that the sun will be rising the next day. The philosophical theory states that this is based on the existent belief that the sun rises every morning. The belief is backed by the scientific claim of the rotation of the earth. The rotation of the earth in this case is the cause behind the sunrises. However, the causal reasoning depicted in this case is based solely on the past observations. The prediction of the future events however cannot be justified on the basis of the past actions. Thus, according to the theory of causality, there exists no rational reason for the belief that the sun will rise the next morning as well.

However, there is found a major point of limitation in the argument that is put forth by Hume. In his claim that the propositions that are related to the causations might be termed as the necessary truths, the philosopher puts forth a rejection of the discovery that is made by the human beings on the basis of the experience that they have gathered in their life time. It is observed that the first experience of the conjunction of a certain cause and the following effect is the first time that the person might have been experiencing the situation. Thus, it might not be possible for the concerned person to consider the situation on a priori basis and put forth a deduction of the various consequences that might be revealed as an effect of the given cause. Thus, it might be pointed out that the causality might not be considered to be a logical relation but however, might be treated completely as a matter of experience for the person concerned. The theory of causality as put forth by Hume is known to be providing the readers with the paradigm of the functionalities of the theories of the causality. It is observed that the people have limited experience in the nature as is depicted by the bounds of the various causes and the effects of the concerned causes. Thus, people tend to infer both the causes and the effects of those causes from one instance to the other. This heavily points out the limitations of the human knowledge in pursuit of the aims in science and mathematics.

The theory of causality as put forth by Hume is majorly observed to be a proposition that is majorly based on the operational mechanism of the human mind. The philosopher suggests that the causal reasoning as depicted by the mankind is majorly based on the habits that are maintained by the people. It is further argued that the causal reasoning is not based on the issues that consider the knowledge in the field of logic or mathematics. Hume believes in the fact that there exists contingency in believing factual matters. Thus, the conclusion that has been drawn by Hume depicts the contingency in itself and lacks justification on the basis of reason. This leads to the conditions wherein the philosophical statement put forth by Hume is nullified on the basis of the premises that were declared by Hume himself. The logical positivism as suggested by Hume also faces the same fate. The central and the most important factor of logical positivism states that nothing can be considered to be the truth unless it is verified on an empirical basis. This leads to the death of the concept of logical positivism.

It might also be stated that the arguments that were put forth by Hume demonstrated a combination of the processes of the induction as well as the deduction that are implemented in the study of philosophy. The theory of causality as discussed by Hume is observed to be divided into two different parts. One of the parts is objective in nature while the other is subjective in nature. A close reading and analysis of the theory as proposed by David Hume states that the causality is not an independent idea but is majorly definable in terms of the sequence that is followed within the activity.

In lieu of the above discussion it might be stated that the theory of causality as discussed by Hume is not correct in a universal manner. The causality is involved in all the exercises that are undertaken by the human beings in their daily activities all over the world. The causality as stated by Hume is considered to be a presupposition within every given form of argument that is undertaken by the human beings in their lifetime. The causality as stated by Hume is known to have been implemented in any given sphere of argument that is implemented by the concerned human being. The theory of causality as discussed by the philosophers is well known to have been holding an important place in the subject of philosophy and majorly in the matters that are related to the philosophy of science. The theory of causality holds true in cases wherein the future instances hold similarity with the past instances. In these cases, the person making the claim is known to have been majorly dependent on the experiences in order to deal with the future course of actions. The reason that is cited by the person for predicting a certain course of action should be based on the facts and should be established on the basis of arguments and reasoning. Thus, it might be pointed out that the causality might not be considered to be a logical relation but however, might be treated completely as a matter of experience for the person concerned.

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