Philosophy Essay Sample on Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

An enquiring concerning human understanding is a rework done by David Hume, in an attempt to create a better version of his first piece titled a treatise of human nature. In this piece, Hume describes moral philosophy as a science of human nature, which can be divided into two different aspects. In the first category, Hume considers man to be mainly born for action guided by his actions and taste. In the second category, he considers man as a reasonable being, focusing on improving his thinking rather than his behaviour.

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According to Hume, the perception of the senses can be copied by the imagination and memory. The copying is however not possible when the mind is not in order as a result of being interrupted by disease or madness. He, therefore, divides the mind's perception based on the different degrees of force and liveliness.H ume suggests that there is a systematic interconnection of the thoughts and ideas in mind. The ideas follow one another in given patterns, even in our imaginations. Hume poses a challenge to the philosophers on the need to classify the causes of the association. In this piece of work, the author categorises all the objects of human reason into two categories which include matters of fact and the relation of ideas. The reasoning about the matter of fact is all about causes and effects. The probability of the cause according to Hume is similar to the probability of the chance. Some causes are always uniform and constantly lead to a uniform effect. Hume categorizes reasoning into both demonstrative and factual reasoning.

Hume, however, agrees that there is an extent of danger involved in the passion for philosophy just as in the passion for religion. Philosophy aims at correcting behaviours and wiping out of vices but if mishandled may create several drawbacks in our lives. As opposed to the moral sciences, Hume argues that the mathematical sciences are highly advantageous. He justifies that fact with the point that mathematical sciences are always determinate and clear.in the eighth chapter of his work, Hume discusses how different people view; liberty and necessity. He points out that there has often been a dispute and controversy on how the two terms are defined. The question of liberty and necessity has, therefore, remained a very contentious issue in metaphysics.

According to Hume, Christian religion did not only start with miracles but is still based on miracles for it to be believed by a reasonable person, a mere reason is not enough to convince anyone of the religion's truth. Stating from experience, the author points out the difference that exists between the present day philosophy and the ancient philosophy. He challenges the philosophers to allow their gods to suit the current appearance of nature without any form of alteration. Hume recognises the fact that philosophical arguments which try to prove the existence of a god and the refuting of the fallacies of atheist are numerous compared to any other forms of arguments. Many religious philosophers argue that no reasonable man can be blinded into being an atheist. A Hume points out that sceptic is a very crucial enemy of religion. Hume summarises by stating that philosophy teaches that perceptions are the only things that can always be present on the mind and that the senses pull things closer to the mind