PEACE Paragraph

Criticism 1 - Do All Simple Ideas Come From Impressions?

Explain

Simple ideas are not always derived from corresponding impressions as one can create an original concept of blue from seeing other shades aside from a missing one.

Simple ideas aren’t always derived from corresponding impressions so something can exist in the mind that hasn’t come from experience. Innate ideas are more likely - a priori synthetic is plausible…

Counter - Hume’s Response

The missing blue shade is a simple exception and isn’t sufficient to disregard the whole copy principle

The missing blue shade is a complex concept formed by “blueness”, “darkness” and “lightness”. It couldn’t be done by a blind person which shows that we need experience of other blues.

Evaluation

It raises the question of “What is a simple concept?”

How do we understand blue in general in the first place? Surely if something is innate like simularity then it allows us to pick what all blues have in common so we can then understand blueness in general.

Criticism 2 - Do All Complex Ideas Relate to Impressions

Explain

This theory is too simplistic since not all concepts are a simple matter of copying sense impressions

Abstract Concepts

Ex. Justice, Freedom. They are all understood but cannot be reduced down to just one singular experience or image. Different people have different feelings and images of it and yet have the same understanding of the concept.

Relational Concepts

Ex “On” “Is” are also understood but can’t be traced back to experience. we see “cat” and “mat” but not “is” or “on”

Counter - Hume’s Response

These concepts aren’t clear or accurate as they can’t be traced back to experience. They aren’t real concepts but ones that we create to cover a collection of our experiences

Hume could argue that justice can be traced back to reflection impressions of feelings in certain situations

Evaluation

Some ideas are innate such as morality and therefore the Copy Principle is too simplistic. TO create relational concepts, they come from an innate understanding that relates the 2 events

(Alternative → Maybe a relational concept is just a made up word to connect 2 experiences → Chompsky)

Criticism 3 - Do Some Concepts Have to Exist in the Mind Before Sense Impressions can be Properly Experienced?

Explain

Our minds must have some concepts or structures in the place in order for our impressions to make “sense” in the first place. If this is the case, then these concepts themselves cannot be derived from our impressions.

There are some essential innate concepts that are required that help us make sense of our experiences in the first place - Simularity, Memory, Impossibility, Identity, Causation

Is experience sufficient to explain all of our concepts? If a statue is given memory and sensations then over time will it compile all our sensations today?

Counter - Hume’s Response

Condillac suggests that a statue that could experience a series of sensations can go from having no idea at all to forming concepts and acquiering beliefs about itself and the world around it.

Humes suggests that its a given - we understand our ecperiences without a doubt.

Maybe its part of the mind’s ability to understand our experiences. You do also have memory

Evaluation

Innatism conclusion

An empty mind would just recieve a flow of uniterpreted sensations. It would be a “blooming, buzzing sensation”

To even form concepts in the first place at least some innate concepts like “simularity” in order to recognise that 2 sensations are simular are needed

We need a conceptual scheme in place before we can make sense of our experiences (like a library with shelving units than one receiving piles of books)

Empiricism Conclusion

Some might argue that the innate structure that we use to make sense of our experiences is in fact language which helps in time to make sense of everything. Before then we don’t make much sense of it → watch a baby argument by Locke.