AN EXAMINATION ON A CRITIQUE OF DAVID HUME’S EMPIRICISM
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- 1-5 Chapters
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- Historical
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- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 3000
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The pursuit of knowledge that is unchangeable and unquestionable has been ongoing throughout history. On the other hand, there is a significant epistemological tradition that has been there at least since the time of Aristotle and is mostly based on the experiences of humans. This tradition does not focus on the possibility of acquiring absolute knowledge.
This practice serves as a paradigmatic illustration of the empiricism philosophical concept. Empiricists argue that it is unreasonable to set a goal of absolute and all-inclusive knowledge, particularly when there is close at hand the power to increase practical knowledge by slower but dependable methods. This is because empiricists believe that it is possible to increase practical knowledge through slower but more reliable methods.
Empiricists are comfortable with developing a body of knowledge that has a high likelihood of being true, despite the fact that full certainty cannot be guaranteed in any of its assertions.
David Hume is widely regarded as one of the most influential radical empiricists in the history of epistemology and metaphysics. He is known for his consistent and clear approach to the radical empiricist position.
His viewpoint is that the only reliable source of information is direct experience, and that any idea that cannot be verified via sense perception is only the product of wishful thinking. Quantity and number are the only abstract things that can be shown or used in abstract science; any effort to expand this more perfect species of knowledge beyond these limitations is nothing more than sophistry and delusion.1
He advocates for the destruction of any and all metaphysical works by calling for a widespread book-burning campaign.
He cries, "What devastation must we wreak when we race through libraries convinced of these (empirical) principles?" If we were to take any book from any school of metaphysics and hold it in our hands, for example, we might question whether or not it contains any abstract reasoning that involves amount or number. No. Does it provide any experimental reasoning about the existence of facts or things? No. Give it up to the fire, because it can hold nothing except empty sophistic assertions and illusory concepts.2
The robust sensism that Hume proposes as an alternative to our natural and acquired scientific, philosophical, and socio-cultural deposits gives rise to more issues than it is able to address. It destroys the basis upon which science and philosophy are built. It reduces us to the makeshift subjectivism and sandy empiricism of dry positivism.
In the framework of knowledge, the empiricism of David Hume is excellent; but, an empiricist who is consistent would ultimately lead to the destruction of the fundamental basis of knowing. We are more than the sum of our experiences; this is humanity's inheritance in terms of its epistemological, scientific, and ontological traditions. 3 in order to condense them into collections of impressions. It is shortsighted to think of them as nothing more than collections of perceptions, as Hume seems to want to do.
The information presented above serves as an introduction and forms the basis of our research.
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