By taking ideas from philosophers before him such as Locke and Berkeley, Hume is able to argue how our ideas and beliefs come from past experiences rather than from reason.
“An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding”, is a book where Humes attempts to convince the audience through a series of arguments the theory of knowledge. In Part 1-3 of the book, Humes explains the two forms of philosophical thinking and the difference between impressions and ideas. By taking ideas from philosophers before him such as Locke and Berkeley, Humes is able to argue how our ideas and beliefs come from past experiences rather than from reason.
In Part 2, Humes explains that most of our ideas and beliefs stem from past experiences not in reason. He believes that if we try to support our ideas through reason, we will never find the answer. Interestingly, Humes says that our beliefs are instead formed by our previous knowledge and thoughts. I find this aspect of his argument to be a valid one. For instance, I believe that airplanes fly because I haven’t seen anything to contradict this idea. What this means is that the only reason I believe that airplanes can fly is because of my prior knowledge and what has been provided to me through nature. If I try to reason why airplanes are able to fly, Humes argues that I would not achieve the best possible answer because I cannot reason without using my prior knowledge and impressions. All in all, Humes argues that through nature, one is able to form ideas and beliefs.
