Essay Sample on Hume's Mind: Perception and Association

Introduction

Hume's concept of the mind is mainly derived from John Locke's Ideas (Lacewing 1). Hume describes perceptions as the basic contents of the brain, and what humans are directly cognizant of (Lacewing 1). It relates to Locke's ideas defined perceptions as "whatsoever the brain perceives internally is the immediate object of idea or thought (Lacewing 1-2). Hume's psychology on the canons of association is elucidated in three symmetries; resemblance, contiguity, and cause and effect (Lacewing 1). Therefore, the paper will analyze, and examine Hume's philosophy relates to impressions and ideas.

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Impression and thoughts are actually connected to the psychological laws of association as elucidated by Hume. Hume's stated that idea is 'indistinct replicas' of impressions, 'less forcible and lively (Lacewing 1). Hume's alleges that ideas are facsimiles of impression is significant. He gives examples of how they both relate like ideas of color (sensation) and ideas of emotion (reflection) (Lacewing 1-2). Ideas of sensation derive ideas from objects in the world. Ideas of reflection derive ideas from activities and operations of our words (Owen 79). Hume gave another difference between ideas and impressions; in ideas humans are liable to confuse and commit mistakes, but it is harder to confuse or mistake an impression (Owen 80).

Impressions are the building chunks of several ideas, thoughts or experiences. There are also complex impressions like the color or shape of something. For example, the idea in the case of a dog can be made complex when someone is asked to add the idea of smell, and the sound it makes (Lacewing 2-3). Hume state that complex ideas are the ones that seem to correspond to nothing in our human experience. For example, unicorns and God. He also reiterates that only simple ideas are copies of impressions (Lacewing 2). However, all multifaceted thoughts are constructed by simple ideas making ideas, and impression relates to the psychology of association (Lacewing 1-2). Hume contends that when developing new complex ideas, we can only involve the sense of impressions. No idea regardless of its complexity can supersede the need of having impressions when interacting with each other. Hume makes a constructive exploitation of the principle of association both of the associated ideas and in more restricted means of the association of parodies (Lacewing 4-5). These associations are fundamental to Hume's explanation of causal reasoning, belief, the indirect passions (pride and humility, love and hatred) (Owen 82).

To explain the role of matters of fact and relations of the idea, Hume used the traditionalist game theory, to show how the rationalist try to find absolute certainty in the realm of physical existence was futile activity (Owen 91). Hume also distinguishes between instant and the influential in "matters of fact." The connections of identity, and of time, and place are clutched, he insists that it is as a result of "a mere inactive admission of the impression via the organs of sensation" (Owen 92).

Hume's discrepancy between relations of ideas and matters of fact seems closer to human's difference between necessary, and dependent than he does within Treatise. It is tremendously indistinct how and to what extent Hume's thoughts have changed and developed. He normally uses the phrase "matter of fact" to explain that "substances of fact that are not experiential by sense of memory" (Lacewing 2-3). All reasonings regarding matters of fact seem to be grounded on the connection of cause and effect. Hume's initial example of the association of ideas in the inquiry is an example of the connotation between an idea and impression. In treatise "derivation of the natural virtues, and depravities" (Quine 4-6). Hume maintains that empathy is the basis of reverence, which humans pay to all artificial virtues.

The concepts of impression, ideas, and association work together to form the picture of the human mind in three ways; resemblance, contiguity, cause, and effect. Resemblance explains the motion from an impression of a image such as a dog (Lacewing 1). Contiguity explains the motion from the thought of an event such as moon landing (Lacewing 1). Cause and effect moving from the idea of having a wound to contemplating aching. Hume maintains that self is just a collection of thoughts, and experiences (Lacewing 1).

My thoughts are Hume's picture on impression, ideas, and association is complete. This is because Hume explains that many ideas and perceptions are associated with each other by similarity. For instance, impression causes ideas, experience causes memories, and beliefs cause other beliefs to form a picture of the human. Hume has an imagistic notion of thought-he thinks that thought uses pictures consequential from impressions. What makes Hume's picture complete is how he explains the ideas of impression, and imagination. According to the principles of association, "when the human mind transitions from the idea or impression of a single object or belief of another are not resolved by reason (Lacewing 3). Cause -effect is the relations of regularity of one perception to another. Therefore, cause-effect connects perception to an idea or impression (Lacewing 4).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hume's philosophy closely relates to impression, ideas, and the psychology of association. Simple ideas are copies of impressions, which are less compulsory, and lively. The impression is a cluster of different ideas or thoughts to form a complete picture in the human mind. Hume distinguishes matters of fact and relations of ideas to try and seek complete inevitability in the dominion of physical existence was futile activity. Resemblance, Contiguity, and Cause-effect help to form a complete picture of Hume's theory on association.

References

Lacewing, Michael. "Hume on the relation between impressions and ideas." pp. 1-5. Retrieved from: http://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138793934/A2/Hume/ImpressionsIdeas.pdf

Lacewing, Michael. "Hume's psychology: the principles of association, imagination and belief." pp. 1-5 Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/657f/66bb79b91b352d682aa4f0bc7e20fd9fc98a.pdf

Owen, David. "Hume and the mechanics of mind: Impressions, ideas, and association." (2009). pp. 79-119. Retrieved from: https://philarchive.org/archive/OWEHATv1

Quine, Willard Van Orman. "Two Dogmas of Empiricism 1a." Philosophy of Language: Foundational articles 1 (2009): pp. 1-20. Retrieved from: https://www.theologie.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:ffffffff-fbd6-1538-0000-000070cf64bc/Quine51.pdf