Justified: future events similar to past events
We usually expect future events to be similar to past events. We expect the sun to rise tomorrow as we have experienced this before. But David Hume recognized that past events tell us nothing about the future unless it is assumed the world is uniform.
Hume says there is knowledge of relation of Ideas and knowledge the world. Relations of ideas are necessary, that is they cannot be any other way. All triangles have three
sides is a relation of ideas and for a triangle to be any other way (having four sides) would result in a contradiction. New Mexico is in the United States is knowledge of fact, and to deny this does not result in a contradiction. A triangle having three sides can be known independently of the world, but to know New Mexico is in the United States requires experience of the world. From his view of knowledge, Hume thinks the idea of cause and effect is based on experience of the world because a certain cause does not necessitate an effect.
Hume argues for a belief to be justified there must be reasons to support it. The justification for knowing New Mexico is in the United States may be; referring to a reliable map, experiencing the place first hand, or hearing about it from a reliable source, etc. Hume thinks there is no justification for future events being similar to past events. What is Jones’s reason for believing ball B will move when ball A strikes it? The response may be, I have experienced these things in the past and so can expect them in the future, but this assumes there is uniformity in the world that links causes of past events to be similar to future events. Jones assumes what he is trying to reason for.
This is a problem that has enormous consequences in how the world is viewed. Even if we have experienced the apparent effect of an event a thousand times we are not justified in believing a similar event will occur again; even the probability of a similar event is not justified. A scientist who has observed water freezing at a certain temperature, numerous times, has no reason to expect it will happen again under the same conditions. An effect of a cause can have any result because there is no contradiction in thinking otherwise since it is not necessary. We have no more reason the sun will rise tomorrow as usual, over it being purple, or not at all. As Hume does not think this problem can be resolved he gives an explanation of why he thinks past events will resemble the future.
Hume says humans have the nature of normally or routinely behaving similar to what we have experienced and calls our attention to the learning of children and animals as examples. Hume says, “Animals… are not guided in these inferences by reasoning: Neither are children.” (Hume, 382) Children do not conclude a justification for why they should drink what is nourishing for them, they do it naturally. There are reasons why this view is conducive for life; if a child needed justification for why it should eat, it would not eat because it does not have the rational capability to form a justification. Nature has programmed us to expect the world to be a certain way, and as a result we avoid destructive events and form beliefs based on experience.
As for the lack of just of justification for the belief that future events will be like the past seems inescapable.
David Hume. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. (New York: Anchor Books, 1974), p. 210.
Hume says there is knowledge of relation of Ideas and knowledge the world. Relations of ideas are necessary, that is they cannot be any other way. All triangles have three
sides is a relation of ideas and for a triangle to be any other way (having four sides) would result in a contradiction. New Mexico is in the United States is knowledge of fact, and to deny this does not result in a contradiction. A triangle having three sides can be known independently of the world, but to know New Mexico is in the United States requires experience of the world. From his view of knowledge, Hume thinks the idea of cause and effect is based on experience of the world because a certain cause does not necessitate an effect.
Hume argues for a belief to be justified there must be reasons to support it. The justification for knowing New Mexico is in the United States may be; referring to a reliable map, experiencing the place first hand, or hearing about it from a reliable source, etc. Hume thinks there is no justification for future events being similar to past events. What is Jones’s reason for believing ball B will move when ball A strikes it? The response may be, I have experienced these things in the past and so can expect them in the future, but this assumes there is uniformity in the world that links causes of past events to be similar to future events. Jones assumes what he is trying to reason for.
This is a problem that has enormous consequences in how the world is viewed. Even if we have experienced the apparent effect of an event a thousand times we are not justified in believing a similar event will occur again; even the probability of a similar event is not justified. A scientist who has observed water freezing at a certain temperature, numerous times, has no reason to expect it will happen again under the same conditions. An effect of a cause can have any result because there is no contradiction in thinking otherwise since it is not necessary. We have no more reason the sun will rise tomorrow as usual, over it being purple, or not at all. As Hume does not think this problem can be resolved he gives an explanation of why he thinks past events will resemble the future.
Hume says humans have the nature of normally or routinely behaving similar to what we have experienced and calls our attention to the learning of children and animals as examples. Hume says, “Animals… are not guided in these inferences by reasoning: Neither are children.” (Hume, 382) Children do not conclude a justification for why they should drink what is nourishing for them, they do it naturally. There are reasons why this view is conducive for life; if a child needed justification for why it should eat, it would not eat because it does not have the rational capability to form a justification. Nature has programmed us to expect the world to be a certain way, and as a result we avoid destructive events and form beliefs based on experience.
As for the lack of just of justification for the belief that future events will be like the past seems inescapable.
David Hume. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. (New York: Anchor Books, 1974), p. 210.
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