Hume And Descartes On The Theory Of Ideas Essay - 619 Words

Hume and Descartes on The Theory of Ideas nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;David Hume and Rene Descartes are philosophers with opposing views about the origination of ideas. Descartes believed there were three types of ideas which are, innate, adventitious and those from imagination. He stated since he exists and his idea of what a perfect being is, such as God, then God exists. Hume, on the other had, believed ideas came only from one thing, impressions. Both theories have their strengths and weaknesses but I like Humes theory better than Descartes. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Descartes believed imagination could not help humans. Descartes definition of ideas was, only things which exist in the mind and represent other things are†¦show more content†¦Descartes position on innate ideas is open to criticism; innate ideas should be predicted not thought of. There is no certainty that the nature in which the idea is explained should be innate. If Descartes theory of innateness has no temporary connections between the ideas, then there is nothing innate about his innate ideas. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hume believed that ideas came from impressions. He stated that every simple idea has a simple impression and vice versa. He divided impressions into two groups, sensation, which comes about from causes unknown to us and reflection which comes about from our ideas. He said any impressions are followed by an idea which resembles the impression and only varies in force and vivacity. Whereas Descartes did not believe in imagination, Hume did. This is a weakness of his because one cannot logically prove something from imagination. One cannot logically have an idea of a cause from their imagination; they can just picture their ideas. Hume did not believe in Descartes concept of innate ideas. He states that ideas are gained through our senses and to prove ideas are not innate, one must realize that they have already had experience of these ideas. Humes strength is his belief that all ideas came from impressions. Even stronger is the impression of reflection. People who feel the effects of an idea thought of, do not see somethingShow MoreRelatedDavid Hume And Renee Descartes s Theories Of Knowledge And Ideas1356 Words   |  6 PagesPhilosophers David Hume and Renee Descartes have opposing views about the origination of ideas. Hume claims that all ideas are copies of impressions, which come from sensation. Descartes disagrees with this, arguing that in order to obtain knowledge, there must be a rational method for obtaining it, and that the senses are not a reliable source. This essay will present both philosopher’s arguments and compare and contrast each perspective regarding matters of knowledge and ideas. 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