Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19
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Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19 David Hume, 1711-1776 1. Historical Background, Major Themes in Hume, (a) Some Historical Background and His “Chief Argument” Peter Millican Hertford College, Oxford 2 1 2 Born in 1711, in Edinburgh Mechanism and Scepticism 1610, Galileo, The Starry Messenger The “Mechanical Philosophy” – Refutes the Aristotelian theory of the universe. – Championed especially by Descartes (matter is 1620, Bacon, Novum Organum just extension) and Boyle (matter is extended, – Advocates the empirical method of science impenetrable, and corpuscular). 1641, Descartes, Meditations – Matter understood as pure extension – The physical world is composed of (particles of) 1660, Formation of the Royal Society inert matter acting through mutual impact and – Promoting the development of empirical science mathematically calculable forces. 1661, Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist – This seems intelligible (because mechanical – The corpuscularian theory of matter interaction appears to make sense to us). 1687, Newton, Principia – But it potentially opens a sceptical gap between – Gravitational force subject to inverse-square law the world as it is and how it appears. 3 4 3 4 The Monster of Malmesbury Leviathan (1651) (and Magdalen Hall = Hertford College!) Hobbes is most famous Thomas Hobbes whole- as a political philosopher, heartedly accepts the arguing that in the state mechanical philosophy: of nature, the life of man – Everything that exists in the universe is material (hence is “solitary, poore, nasty, no immaterial substance). brutish and short”. – Everything is causally The only solution is determined by the laws of absolute sovereignty, mechanics. over religion and morals – A perfect science would be demonstrative. as well as policy. 5 6 5 6 Professor Peter Millican, Hertford College, Oxford Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19 Materialism and Atheism Opposing Materialism Hobbes did not deny the existence of God, The main argument against Hobbist but many took his materialism to be atheistic materialism was to insist on the limited and dangerous (e.g. denying immortality): powers of “brute matter”, which: – In 1666 Parliament cited his “atheism” as – is necessarily passive or inert; probable cause of the plague and fire of London! – cannot possibly give rise to mental activity such – His “Pernicious” books were publicly burned in as perception or thought. Oxford in 1683, because of their “Damnable This point was pressed by Ward (1656), More Doctrines … false, seditious, and impious, and (1659), Stillingfleet (1662), Tenison (1670), most of them … also Heretical and Blasphemous Cudworth (1678), Glanvill (1682), and … … and destructive of all Government”. 7 8 7 8 John Locke (1632-1704) Two Kinds of Empiricism Distinguish concept-empiricism: Strongly influenced by his friend Boyle. All our ideas derive from experience Essay concerning Human (i.e. contra Descartes, there are no innate ideas) Understanding of 1690 sets from knowledge-empiricism: out to account for human thought and human All knowledge of the world derives from knowledge, within this new experience mechanical world-order. (i.e. in Kant’s terms, there is no synthetic a priori Emphasis on empiricism and knowledge) probability, rather than a priori Locke is noted for his concept-empiricism, knowledge and certainty. but he is not a pure knowledge-empiricist. 9 10 9 10 A Treatise of Human Nature Published 1739-40 Abstract (1740) (b) Major Humean Themes: – Explains “Chief Argu- Empiricism, Scepticism, Naturalism ment” of the Treatise – Describes its philoso- phy as “very sceptical” – Starts from empiricism and celebrates association of ideas 11 12 11 12 Professor Peter Millican, Hertford College, Oxford Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19 Hume’s Copy Principle Empiricist Sceptic, or Naturalist? Hume’s concept-empiricism is expressed in A negative sceptic (?) his “first principle” (T 1.1.1.12) which is now – Deliberately aiming to reveal weaknesses and commonly known as his Copy Principle: contradictions in human reason, or “that all our simple ideas [i.e. thoughts] in their first – Driven to paradox and contradiction by follow- appearance are deriv’d from simple impressions ing his own principles (e.g. Copy Principle). [i.e. sensations or feelings], which are correspondent to them, and which they exactly A positive naturalist (?) represent.” (T 1.1.1.7) – Attempting “to introduce the experimental Hume sees this as a more precise formulation method of reasoning into moral subjects”. of Locke’s denial of innate ideas (as made – Explains ideas through Copy Principle and explicit at Abstract 6 and E 2.9 n. 1). association of ideas: cognitive science. 13 14 13 14 Three Humean “Naturalisms” Natural science of human behaviour, with down-to-earth causal mechanisms – explanatory naturalism Man is part of the natural world, alongside (c) Early Influences on Hume the animals – biological naturalism Against “invisible intelligent powers”, and hostile to established religion – anti-supernaturalism 15 16 15 16 “I found that the moral Philosophy transmitted to us by Hume’s Education Antiquity, labor’d under the same Inconvenience that has been found in their natural Philosophy, of being entirely Edinburgh University 1721-5 (age 10-14) Hypothetical, & depending more upon Invention than Experience. Every one consulted his Fancy in erecting – Traditional, in Latin, infused with religion; Schemes of Virtue & of Happiness, without regarding Home at Chirnside, 8 miles west of Berwick human Nature, upon which every moral Conclusion must depend. This therefore I resolved to make my principal – Read classics (Cicero, Seneca, Plutarch etc.); Study, … I believe … that little more is requir’d to make – Shaftesbury Characteristics (bought 1726); a man succeed in this Study than to throw off all – Attempted to follow Stoic moralists; Prejudices … At least this is all I have to depend on for the Truth of my Reasonings, which I have multiply’d to – Experienced personal breakdown, as such a degree, that within these three Years, I find I have described in his famous draft letter to a scribbled many a Quire of Paper, in which there is physician of early 1734: nothing contain’d but my own Inventions.” (HL i 16) 17 18 17 18 Professor Peter Millican, Hertford College, Oxford Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19 Loss of Religious Faith A Missing Piece in the Puzzle 1751 letter to Gilbert Elliot of Minto: So far we have seen why Hume might be: – Hume recently “burn’d an old Manuscript Book, wrote before I was twenty; which contain’d, Page after Page, – Sceptical about established orthodoxies, both the gradual Progress of my Thoughts on that Head”. moral and religious; Began “with an anxious Search after Arguments, to – Keen to study human nature, through solid confirm the common Opinion”, “a perpetual Struggle of empirical methods rather than “invention” a restless Imagination against Inclination” (HL i 154). (i.e. explanatory naturalism); Deathbed interview with James Boswell: – Seeking a theory that is quite independent of – Hume said that he was “religious when he was religion (i.e. anti-supernaturalism). young”, but that “the Morality of every Religion was But how does all this fit with his bad” and “he never had entertained any belief in Religion since he began to read Locke and Clarke”. enthusiasm for empiricism? 19 20 19 20 What Connects Locke and Clarke? Treatise 1.3.3 – which disputes the basis of the Causal Maxim (whatever begins to exist, must have a cause of existence) – identifies both Locke and Clarke by name in footnotes; (d) Seeking the Missing Link this is the Treatise’s only mention of Clarke. Both Locke and Clarke advocated the Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, based on the Causal Maxim. Both also appealed crucially to the principle that matter cannot give rise to thought. 21 22 21 22 Locke’s Cosmological Argument Clarke’s Cosmological Argument “There is no truth more evident, than that something Hume gave a paraphrase of Clarke’s argument in must be from eternity. … This being of all absurdities Part 9 of his Dialogues concerning Natural Religion: the greatest, to imagine that pure nothing, the perfect – “Whatever exists must have a cause or reason of its negation and absence of all beings, should ever existence; … What was it, then, which determined produce any real existence.” (IV x 8) Something to exist rather than Nothing?” “If then there must be something eternal, let us see – “Nothing … can never produce any thing.” what sort of being it must be. … it is very obvious … – “an infinite succession of causes, without any ultimate that it must necessarily be a cogitative being. For it is cause at all; … is absurd,” as impossible to conceive, that ever bare incogitative – “We must, therefore, have recourse to a necessarily matter should produce a thinking intelligent being, as existent Being, who carries the REASON of his that nothing should of itself produce matter.” (IV x 10) existence in himself ... There is, consequently, such a Being; that is, there is a Deity.” (D 9.3) 23 24 23 24 Professor Peter Millican, Hertford College, Oxford Oxford Lectures on David Hume, 2018-19 Samuel Clarke Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782) Most prominent advocate of Hume’s relative, and mentor Newtonian philosophy. while at Edinburgh University; Debated with Anthony family home at Kames, 9 miles Collins, who argued that southwest of Chirnside. human behaviour is subject Corresponded with Samuel to necessity, just as much Clarke (about free will and as the actions of matter. necessity) and Andrew Baxter, a Scottish Clarkean (1723). In response, Clarke firmly distinguished physical from Told Boswell that Locke’s “chapter on Power crucified moral necessity, real neces- him” – it deals with the idea of sity from mere predictability. power, free will, necessity etc. 25 26 25 26 William Dudgeon Andrew Baxter Tenant of Lennel Hill farm Tutor for the Hays of near Coldstream (8 miles Drumelzier at Duns Castle south of Chirnside).