FREE ESSAY ON DAVID HUME

DAVID HUME

David Hume was an imperialist philosopher who revolutionized scientific argument and
methodology with his skepticism. His arguments about the way people though up to his day,
and still today, are fundamental in explaining how we gain knowledge and what we do with
this knowledge. Hume helped pave a road leading toward a higher state of consciousness
for humanity with his theory concerning the perceptions of the mind. He divided the minds
perception into two distinct group's impression and ideas. With these two classifications
Hume rationalized the depths of human understanding. Impressions consist of the
perception regarding all that is seen, felt and heard. Ideas are formulated thoughts
based upon impressions. They are the perceptions of the mind involved with thought rather
than experience. Hume used impressions to test the relevance of ideas through his
"microscope" system. This theory challenged the mind to test out inconsistent ideas by
means of the impressions. The essence of ideas and impression defines the nature of the
mind and all that it perceives. Together they rationalize clear and distinct thoughts and
sensations
Impressions are lively perceptions that implore all the sensation and emotion that the
mind perceives. They are not misleading, for their essence is based entirely on
experience. It is a perception that ignites the way all is felt, seen, or heard. External
causes or objects effect the senses, influencing the way the mind perceives things. For
instance to understand the essence of a rose is to recognize that it is red, the pedals
feel like silk, it smells of sweet perfume and it evokes happiness. All of these
perceptions are derived from the senses. Beautiful words could never conjure enough
realism to replace the reality of seeing a rose. A poem written by Ernest Hemmingway
describing the beauty of a rose would still act as a dull substitute for the actual
experience. An impression is superior to any idea. Hume claimed that, "The most lively
thought is still inferior to the dullest sensation,"(Hume, 10). Sensation is the only
real attribute of the mind and it serves as focal point for all ideas and extensions of
thought. Impressions have the ability to stand independently; they do not depend on any
other elements to make them seem more real. They can always be relied upon; there is no
chance of making a mistake when regarding them. Impressions are original in their state
of being and never act as a counterfeit. They are dazzling and sound. 
Impressions are derived from inward and outward sentiments. Outward impressions are
caused by external perceptions. These consist of the sounds of a thunderstorm, the
sensation of rain on the skin and seeing the electricity in lightening. It includes all
the perception that the senses experience first hand. Inward impressions make up all of
the internal perceptions. This includes feelings and emotions that are evoked by external
extensions. The emotions: loyalty, compassion, misery, depression and romance are all
categorized as inward impressions. Seeing a shooting star and feeling lucky as a result
of the sighting is an example of an outward impression causing an inward impression. The
two impressions define one another.
Ideas are the feeble perceptions of the mind. They are the reflections of the sensations
experienced from impressions. Ideas are codependent on impressions; they cannot exist
without their influence. They are at least when simple, like impression but imperfect.
Ideas cannot be trusted or relied upon to be consistent and true. They seem on the
surface, to be infinitely powerful with the ability to transcend the limits of the mind.
However, in actuality they are limited to the impression that formulated them. The
creative boundaries of the mind are restricted to having only the ability to transform
bits of memory that were copies of past experiences. 
Hume argues that a blind man can never formulate an idea of a spectrum of colors. For he
has the absence of the sense of sight. A spectrum of color can only be comprehended by
seeing and experiencing its beauty through the eyes. Impression of color can never be
copied without the sensation of sight. This principle applies to ideas based on outward
impressions as well as those based on inward impressions. For example, it is beyond the
capacity of a man who is a womanizer to ever comprehend the idea of monotony. It is
beyond his power to understand the meaning of being faithful to a woman, if he's never
experienced doing so. The mind would combine impressions to compose an idea that
resembles what being monotonous feels like. All he would be able to do is construct an
idea of faithfulness by combining copies of different inward impressions. 
Ideas are apt to getting confused with resembling other ideas. When ideas are employed
without the accompaniment of clear and distinct meanings they tend to mislead the mind.
Ideas are therefore the faint images of impressions when thinking the reasoning about
them.
Impressions and ideas relate to one another in that ideas need impressions in order to
exist. Hume believed that, "Every idea is copied form a similar impression,"(Hume, 11).
For every simple idea there is a simple impression which resembles it. Likewise every
impression has a connected idea. All ideas in their appearance are derived from
impressions, which are interconnected to them, and are represented by them. New ideas can
only be constructed from impressions. Hume claims that an idea of God can be reached when
the mind constructs impressions of infinite intelligence, all powerful, and merciful
characteristics. Together these attributes form a perception of God. These
characteristics and perceptions arise from the mind reflection on goodness and ability to
formulate an extension of a being. Combining real impression to formulate ideas
stimulates a perception of God. The idea of God serves as an example of the power of
ideas and impression ability to work together as a single unit.
Hume proposed a way of distinguishing reasonable ideas from preposterous ones. He
believed ideas must be tested by impressions. This system has been branded the
"microscope" theory by many of Hume's students. If an idea seems unclear and false one
should take that idea and try to trace it back to its original impression from which it
is derived from. In a sense one is inspecting an idea under a microscope in search for
the slightest detail to prove it's nature. The microscope theory scrutinizes an idea
until finding the influence of its impression. For instance could it being proven that
the sky could be brown? Although the color brown is not usually a prevalent hue of the
sky one could put it under the microscope to see if that idea is true. I search my brain
for memories concerning the weather and what the sky looked like at the time. The sky is
usually brownish overcast when it is cold and about to thunderstorm. There are also times
at around 5 o'clock in the morning when the golden sunrise is clashing with the night sky
giving off a brownish tint. After tracing back memories of impression on the colors of
sky under my microscope I can conceive of a brown sky. This test proves how Hume would
test ideas with impressions. 
I think that Hume's distinction between ideas and impressions serves as a cumpus for
human understanding concerning the mind. Hume wrote his interpretation on ideas and
impression in a way that was clear for many to understand. Many philosophers write in a
manner that seems to entertain themselves and their pears, rather than the public at
large. Hume's description of the perceptions of the mind helps separate ideas and
sensation for easy interpretation. It is obvious to see that ideas are simple copies of
impression developed by experience and sensation. 
I believe Hume makes a bold stance to say that the dullest impression will always be
superior to the greatest idea. He is claiming that even his own expressions and ideas on
philosophy are pretty much inferior to anything in nature or in human feeling. Hume also
claims that even the most beautiful poetic verses could not substitute experience. Yet
sometimes poetry enhance the way humanity perceives the world. Thoughts can be just as
dramatic as perceptions.
I feel as though Hume did not credit imagination enough in his analysis of the mind's
perception. The formulation of complex ideas however needs not to resemble the original
impressions. We can use our imaginations and develop an object without ever seeing it's
influence. Among ideas, those that do return a considerable degree of quality of the
original impressions belong to memory, while other ideas belong to imagination. The mind
has the capacity to imagine. However, I agree with Hume that most ideas are just
augmentations of the many combined impressions we experience. Ideas based on inward
impressions are impossible to conjure up without influence of impression. The idea of
love or pain can't be comprehended without experience. The idea of love must always be
derived by an antecedent impression of pleasure. Imagining what love is like can never
act as a substitute for the actual sensation 
Hume's "microscope" theory was a brilliant and simple formula designed to distinguish
false ideas. It is built on the foundation of impressions. He is proving his theory of
ideas and impressions with the microscope idea. Since impressions influence all ideas
they then have the power to prove if these ideas show their influence. It is as if Hume
developed the theory to prove to everyone how sound his ideas were. It worked. I looked
at some of man's most complex creations and looked to see if I could find any type of
influence of an impression. For most of all my ideas I was able to trace them back to
impressions.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were debates, as there are today, about
how much of what we know is something we learned through experience and how much of what
we know is something we could have reasoned out using our human intelligence without the
benefit of particular experience. Hume added considerable insight concerning all the
perception of the mind and helps develop a system to differentiate the relevance of
ideas. He distinctly and clearly stated that the only truth the mind has is based on the
sense experience. Hume shed light on the mind perceptions that was completely new and
different from other modern philosophers. In the process he challenged the world to look
at life from a new angle and understand their minds extension with a new appreciation.