I will be posting the papers I write for Champlain courses. I am required to maintain the "academic standards" and thus my language in these kind of posts might be dry and boring. But I have really done research for these. So take them seriously.
David Hume was the most important philosopher to write in English. Hume was well known in his time as an historian and essayist. All of Hume’s philosophical works remain widely and deeply influential. Hume, it could be said, is the pioneer of philosophical naturalism, though, like in the case of all geniuses, many of his contemporaries denounced his work on counts of skepticism and atheism.
One aspect of Hume’s thought that I would like to highlight here is his deep rooting for a healthy dose of skepticism for all people from all walks of life. In his times, the church was busy making believers out of the public, as anyone who asked too many questions was fed the dogmatic principles of religion. Hume demurred at the ways of the church, and advocated that one should question the veracity of claims that lack empirical evidence. The explanations of the church certainly did. “The worst speculative Sceptic ever I knew, was a much better Man that the best superstitious Devotee and Bigot” said Hume, when comparing skeptics and believers.
Philosophical skepticism is an attitude that questions the notion that absolute knowledge is possible. Philosophical skepticism is opposed to dogmatism (Platonism), which presents that a certain set of positive statements are authoritative and unchanging.
Jean-Louis Gassee, a computer scientist, once said that human beings are grossly handicapped by the limitations of our minds, limitations that we seldom even recognize. Being a computer scientist, he believed computers shall herald the power of information to overcome our human handicaps. I believe the computer’s greatest power lies in its capacity to breed a new race – a race of questioners. The purest power computer technology affords is the ability to think in questions. Technology gives you a reason not to take anything on faith. Suddenly there is so much information you can almost effortlessly find the facts for yourself. The race of skeptics that I mentioned before will be bred on such rich information and easy access. The ability to search for the veracity of claims, as done by Hume, will be much easier and more accessible to the masses because of the computer.
“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”
“All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be skeptical, or at least cautious, of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.”
– David Hume (1711 – 1776).
David Hume was the most important philosopher to write in English. Hume was well known in his time as an historian and essayist. All of Hume’s philosophical works remain widely and deeply influential. Hume, it could be said, is the pioneer of philosophical naturalism, though, like in the case of all geniuses, many of his contemporaries denounced his work on counts of skepticism and atheism.
One aspect of Hume’s thought that I would like to highlight here is his deep rooting for a healthy dose of skepticism for all people from all walks of life. In his times, the church was busy making believers out of the public, as anyone who asked too many questions was fed the dogmatic principles of religion. Hume demurred at the ways of the church, and advocated that one should question the veracity of claims that lack empirical evidence. The explanations of the church certainly did. “The worst speculative Sceptic ever I knew, was a much better Man that the best superstitious Devotee and Bigot” said Hume, when comparing skeptics and believers.
Philosophical skepticism is an attitude that questions the notion that absolute knowledge is possible. Philosophical skepticism is opposed to dogmatism (Platonism), which presents that a certain set of positive statements are authoritative and unchanging.
Jean-Louis Gassee, a computer scientist, once said that human beings are grossly handicapped by the limitations of our minds, limitations that we seldom even recognize. Being a computer scientist, he believed computers shall herald the power of information to overcome our human handicaps. I believe the computer’s greatest power lies in its capacity to breed a new race – a race of questioners. The purest power computer technology affords is the ability to think in questions. Technology gives you a reason not to take anything on faith. Suddenly there is so much information you can almost effortlessly find the facts for yourself. The race of skeptics that I mentioned before will be bred on such rich information and easy access. The ability to search for the veracity of claims, as done by Hume, will be much easier and more accessible to the masses because of the computer.
“A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.”
“All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be skeptical, or at least cautious, of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.”
– David Hume (1711 – 1776).
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