A treatise of human nature part 1

By David Hume 1711 - 1776

Introduction to Hume
 1: The origin of ideas
All perceptions of the human mind fall either into impressions or ideas
Impressions are most immediate to us, including sensation, passion, and emotions
Ideas being intellectual power, such as thinking and reasoning.
Impressions can be simple or complex (throwback to Lockes simple and complex qualities.)
Simple perceptions & ideas are ones that dont allow any distinction or separation among their
parts. Simple ideas are irreducible and fundamental
Complex ideas can be broken into constituent simple ideas, example of apple.
The idea of red that we form in the dark differs only in degree of intensity, not in nature, from the
impression of red that strikes our eyes in sunshine
Simple impressions always come first. They are the first source of information and knowledge
To give a child an idea of orange, I give to him an orange object. The colour is an impression which
corresponds to an idea. The idea cannot come first
 2: Division of the subject
methodological procedure would be to examine our impressions before turning to ideas,
seeing as impressions come before ideas.

Impressions can be divided into sensations and reflections (another throwback to Locke)

Impressions strikes the senses and makes us feel heat/cold etc. etc. When this immediate
stimuli ceases, our mind makes a copy of this sensation, and we then call it an idea.

This invokes NEW impressions such as desire, fear, pain, pleasure etc. These are known as
impressions of reflections.
 3: Memory & imagination
After impressions have been presented to the mind, it shall reappear later as a memory.

Half way between impression and idea = MEMORY

Memory is vivid and clear, as it is still half an impression

When something is 100% perfect idea = IMAGINATION

Imagination is faint and languid

Memory is bound to emulate exactly its corresponding impression, whereas imagination is

not forced to adhere to the same impressions which informed it.
 4: Association of ideas
Seeing as imagination has pretty much a free reign, there must be some principle of organisation
and association between ideas, because ideas in the imagination seem to flow smoothly.

3 qualities which seem to have a role in this process are: Resemblance, Contiguity, and Cause
& Effect

Complex ideas are the subjects of our mental processes which (generally) arise from the union of
simple ideas

Hume postulates this could account for the similarity between foreign languages
 5: Relations

Can be divided into 7 kinds, which can be considered as the sources of all philosophical
relation
RESEMBLANCE no objects can be compared, less they have some degree of resemblance.
IDENTITY applied to mean constant and unchanging objects. Most universal of all
relations, as it is common to everything that exists for any period of time.
SPACE & TIME the source of infinite comparisons such as distance, contiguous, direction,
motion, time scale etc etc.
QUANTITY & NUMBER a very fertile source of relation.
DEGREE OF SIMILARITY the extent to which two objects share the same quality e.g. colour
intensity or degree of sweetness
CONTRARIETY talking about how things differ is a way to compare them
CAUSE & EFFECT when, where, or how things come into existence.
 6: Modes and substances
Denies that substance can be made accessible to us through the senses, because things which
are known through the senses such as colour, smell, sound etc are clearly not substances.

So we have no idea of substance other than the idea of a collection of particular qualities, and
such collections are all we can meaningfully refer to when we talk or think about substance.

Substances and modes are naught but the collection of simple ideas that are united by the
imagination and assigned a particular name by which we can recall that collection. (almost
seems BERKLEAN)
 7: Abstract ideas
Berkeley general idea is just a particular idea attached to a certain word.

Cannot conceive of any precise quantity or quality without forming a precise notion of its
degrees.

No object can appear to the senses without having a definite quantity or quality

All ideas that are different are separable and distinguishable