Zabeeh Hume Precursor of Modern Empiricism

An analysis of his opinions on Meaning, Metaphysics, Logic and Mathematics
1960
ISBN: 978-94-011-9194-4
Verlag: Springer Netherland
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 166 Seiten, eBook

David Hume is the most influential precursor of modern empiri cism. By modern empiricism, I intend a belief that all cognitive conflicts can be resolved, in principle, by either appeal to matters offact, via scientific procedure, or by appeal to some sets of natural or conventional standards, whether linguistic, mathematical, aes thetic or political. This belief itself is a consequent of an old appre hension that all synthetic knowledge is based on experience, and that the rest can be reduced to a set of self-evident truths. In this broad sense, Modern Empiricism encompasses classes, such as Logi cal Empiricism, Logical Atomism and Philosophical Analysis, and unique individuals such as Russell and Moore. It excludes, thereby, the present day continental philosophies, such as Thomism, Exist entialism, and Dialectical Materialism. Modern empiricists, to be sure, are influenced by many other phi losophers. Locke, Berkeley, and Mill, among the classical empiri cists, and Leibniz and Kant, among the rationalists (the former especially on the logico-mathematical side) in one way or other are responsible for the appearance of empiricism in its new form. But none of them were as influential as Hume. This, by itself is not news. Weinberg, in his well-known book, An Examination of Logical Positivism, observes that: Many, if not all, of the principal doctrines of contemporary positivism derive from Hume.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Zabeeh, Farhang

Inhaltsverzeichnis

One / Statement of the Problem.- 1 Historical Setting.- 2 The Empiricists’Dilemma.- 3 A Brief Comparison.- 4 The Main Issue.- Two / The Principle of Meaning.- 1 The Critique of Metaphysics.- 2 The Limit of Human Knowledge.- 3 The Principle of the Priority of Impressions to Ideas.- 4 The Application of the Principle.- 5 Meaning and Complex Ideas.- 6 Summary of the Chapter.- Three / Evaluation of Hume’s Principle.- 1 Introduction.- 2 On the Relation of Impressions and Ideas.- 3 On the Relation of Words and Impressions.- 4 The Difficulty with the Recurrence of Impressions.- 5 The Difficulty with the Privacy of Impressions.- 6 The Difficulty of Establishing Meaning by Looking for the Origin of Ideas.- Four / The Principle of Analyticity.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Statement of the Principle.- 3 An Analysis of Hume’s Principle.- 4 Hume’s Explanation of Logical Concepts.- 5 Hume’s View of Logic.- 6 Summary of the Chapter.- Five / The Domain of Deductive Reason.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Knowledge and Its Objects.- 3 The Science of Arithmetic.- 4 The Science of Geometry.- 5 Is Knowledge Attainable?.- 6 Conclusion of the Chapter.- Six / Summary and Conclusion.