Hume vs. Kant: Causality Principle Debate
Hume’s Empirical View of Causality
Hume argued that the principle of causality is empirical and a posteriori. It is contingent and not strictly universal, meaning it is logically possible to have exceptions.
Kant’s A Priori Principle of Causality
In contrast, Kant believed that the principle of causality is a priori. It is necessary and strictly universal. For Kant, there can be no derogation from the principle of causality; only the particular causal laws can vary.
Influence of Hume on Kant
Sensory
Read MorePhilosophy: Reality, Knowledge, and Existence
Philosophical Conceptions of Reality
Greek philosophy recognizes the existence of a divine realm and a natural realm, i.e., autonomous ambits, since one is not affected by the other. For the ancient Greeks, something is orderly because something in it always stays the same. Nature, in its essence, is an eternal universe. There is a permanent law governing the process of production and destruction of natural things. The essence remains; the natural produces and destroys some types of things kept in
Read MoreUnderstanding Hume’s Theory of Knowledge
**Relation of Ideas**
Hume points out two types of knowledge: knowledge relationships between ideas and propositions based on experiences. As regards the relations of knowledge of ideas, he says that although all ideas are based on impressions, we have knowledge of ideas without the need for impressions. These formulations are typical of analytics and necessary knowledge. It is the knowledge of logic and mathematics. What we know of ideas is reduced to relationships between ideas based on three principles:
Read MoreNietzsche’s Critique of Religion and the Rise of the Superman
Nietzsche’s Critique of Religion and Morality
1. Critique of Religion and its Morality: Nietzsche criticizes religion and its morality because he sees it as nihilistic. He argues that all religion is false because it relies on transcendent realities. He discusses the necessity of religion, noting that it arises in every culture, seemingly because everyone needs to believe in something. Nietzsche’s genealogical method involves looking for the origin of everything. What is the origin of religious belief?
Read MoreSigismund’s Free Will: Triumph Over Fate in Literature
New Evidence
With the new purpose of doing well after his initial failure, Sigismund began a new stage in his heroic journey. The character struggles against his instincts, which make him angry and prone to boasting.
The climax comes with the encounter with Rosaura. Sigismund disappoints the ruse concocted by his father and discovers that what he lived at the court was not a dream.
Also faced with the biggest temptation for self-control: moved by the beauty of Rosaura, he could take advantage of the
Read MorePre-Socratic Philosophers: Understanding Early Greek Thought
Philosophy is the result of trying to explain reality through reason, leaving aside myths and superstitions. Seeing the world in all its complexity, it emerged in Greek culture around the 6th century BC. Philosophy was created as a critique of conventional wisdom.
Thales of Miletus
Thales of Miletus was the originator of philosophy, challenging the mythical classical Greek world depicted by Homer and Hesiod. He founded the school of Miletus. He is the first of the Pre-Socratics, who investigated the
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