Can you help me to choice one, thanks - Essay Example

There is no self: David Hume David Hume suggested a theory of knowledge that entails logical consequences. The result of the theory is skepticism. This means that people have no certain, and self-evident knowledge about anything. Knowledge is confined to ideas and impression; therefore, nobody is truly able to prove the existence of either spiritual entities or material objects. The casual belief that things that happen in people’s daily lives are produced by a particular cause, are the cause of our association of ideas, a customary or habitual perception of certain occurrences that appear to have such relations.

The perceived relations do not carry any universality or necessity. This means that certain phenomena are not related to certain causes. This paper examines Hume’s theory that there is no self, and certain effects are not related to certain causes. According to Hume, impression or sensation are not related to one another; therefore, they do not have in them anything necessary or universal (Chaffee 234). The effects are only chances, and nothing is certain. This implies that particular effects are not because of particular causes.

Causality depends on mere belief or instinct. Nobody is aware of any certainty, uniformity or regularity in the working of nature. Therefore, everything becomes a matter of probability (Chaffee 234). Hume further argues that people are limited to images and perceptions. If people cannot determine the exact cause of a particular effect, then they can also not be sure that an external object caused it (Chaffee 237). Although most people are accustomed to believing that there is a casual relationship between objects and perception, there is no valid proof that justifies the relationship between objects and perception.

In summary, in accordance to Hume’s interpretation of freedom of the will, there is continuity of self-unconsciousness. He argues that people should be responsible for their actions, as the effects of their impulses within. He further says that metaphysics of reality does not exist. Nobody knows anything that is real in itself, including the world or God. Therefore, there is no self. Works CitedChaffee J. The Philosophers Way (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education, Limited, 2011. Print.