Understanding Hume and Induction

Flashcards covering key concepts related to Hume's philosophy, particularly focusing on induction and its implications.

Principle of Induction

The principle that the laws of nature will hold in the future, which Hume argues cannot be defended as self-evident.

Hume's Fork

A philosophical examination by David Hume distinguishing between relations of ideas and matters of fact.

Inductive Scepticism

Hume's skepticism about whether knowledge extends beyond immediate experience.

Habit (in Hume's philosophy)

A belief-generating mechanism that leads us to suppose causation based on the constant conjunction of events.

Scientific Induction

A systematic approach to induction that empiricists claim differs from informal induction due to rigorous evaluation.

Rationalism

A philosophical stance that argues against Hume's skepticism by suggesting that all reasoning, including scientific theories, is based on the principle of the uniformity of nature.

Newtonian Science

A framework established by Isaac Newton, which empirically supported laws of motion and gravity, later questioned by Hume's arguments.

Transcendental Idealism

Kant's philosophical perspective that aims to reconcile Hume's skepticism with the validity of scientific knowledge.

Analytic Truth

A statement that is true by virtue of its form or meaning rather than by how it correlates with the world.

Empirical Knowledge

Knowledge that is grounded in sensory experience, which Hume argued could not justify inductive reasoning.