Reading Philosophy

David Hume fashions a new theory of mind, modelled on Newtonian science.

This episode covers his basic views on feeling and thinking, simple and complex ideas, and the principles of association.

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This is the beginning of a mini series on David Hume, one of the most important philosophers writing in English. Hume was one of the British Empiricists who sought to remake philosophy in the same way that Newton remade science.

The present episode covers his life and works, as well as his philosophical project.

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"Is there any knowledge in the world which is so certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?"

This episode gives Betrand Russell's answer to the question, laying out his theory of knowledge, with a chapter-by-chapter brief summary and overview of The Problems of Philosophy (1912).

(Spoilers: Yes, there is. But most if what we believe doesn't qualify.)

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Russell believes we should study philosophy. But why?

Does philosophy make progress? Or is it practically useful?

Neither, instead it helps us to free our minds.

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Can we figure out the nature of the universe with a priori reasoning?

What is the relationship between logic and metaphysics?

And, is Hegel right?

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Before we can discuss what we can know, we first need a clear idea of what knowledge is.

True belief doesn't seem to be enough, but what kind of justification can definitely ground knowledge?

And what do we with cases where we can't be completely sure?

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Before we can talk about what kinds of truths we can know, we first need to get clear on what truth is.

Russell sets out his versions of the correspondence theory of truth, by contrast with the coherence theory of truth.

A belief is true if it corresponds to some mind-independent fact.

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Russell asks if we can always justify all our beliefs. What happens when we hit our most fundamental beliefs, which may be unjustifiable?

What is the nature of self-evident intuitive beliefs? How does it relate to perception, memory and logic? Can self-evident beliefs go wrong?

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Russell delves deeper into how we can know abstract general principles, and how these universals are related to the rest of our knowledge.

Finally, he gives a brief overview of his entire epistemology.

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We use talk and think about abstract general principles, like whiteness or justice, all the time.

Russell draws on Plato's Theory of Forms to investigate the metaphysical nature of these abstract called 'universals'.

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