Human Understanding Through Scientific Procedures - Essay Example

Is a philosophical science of metaphysics, such as Descartes’, still possible after Hume’s Enquiry concerning Human Understanding? This paper aims to discuss metaphysics in relation to the philosophical ideas presented by Descartes and Hume. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy which particularly deals with the abstract concepts including time, space, beginning of nature, human being, mind, emotions, soul etc. Its core concepts can be better understood in comparison with other studies, for instance, physics focuses on the fundamental nature of physical realities which can be seen, touched or sensed (Fine). On the other hand a considerable number of philosophers have indicated that the world we live in is greater beyond our imagination. There are certain things which can be studied through physical sciences but things which are only based upon human understanding and rationality are discussed and studied under the branch of philosophical science called metaphysics. Rene Descartes is one of the renowned scholars of modern philosophy. He is specifically known for his book ‘Meditation on First Philosophy’ in which he presented his in-depth views about metaphysics. The three most important aspects discussed in his philosophical debate are the mind, body and the existence of God (Descartes). The concepts of metaphysics presented by Descartes were widely acknowledged for a long time period because the book raises questions regarding God and the soul while seeking logical answers and truth on the basis of reasoning (Descartes). However, in 1748 another philosopher named David Hume published his book ‘An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding’ which proved to be a remarkable addition in the field of philosophy (Hume). This is primarily because of the fact that Hume’s work challenged Descartes. However, until today Hume’s work could not reduce the worth of Descartes’ philosophies. This paper aims to argue that the philosophical science of metaphysics such as the one presented by Descartes is still possible after Hume’s Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Here, it is important to comprehend that ever since the time period of Descartes the field of philosophy is distinguished on the basis of rationalist and empiricist. On one hand rationalists are more concerned about metaphysics and questions related to God, nature of substance, matter, soul etc. (Descartes). They primarily try to answer these questions through reasoning but on the other side empiricists have been more interested in epistemology. This is further associated with the idea of experiencing different things and gaining substantial knowledge regarding the world. It should be noted that Descartes was a firm believer in the philosophical science of metaphysics. That’s why he based his various writings on the subject of body, mind, soul and God. Contrary to this, Hume was considered an atheist by the people who knew him and also because of his extreme support to the idea of observation and experience (Hume). In the contemporary world, philosophers support both Descartes and Hume because the strange aspects of nature suggest that there is much more hidden from human understanding than what is revealed. Hence we need to explore a lot of ideas concerning humans and the nature at large. However, some people also believe that everything can be proved through scientific procedures. Descartes believed that reasoning can answer significant questions about nature and God whereas Hume believed that everything can be explained through science. But it is also true that more than 200 years have passed since Hume presented this enquiry and science has been unable to prove the existence of soul and why human beings experience certain emotions. Therefore it can be argued that Descartes was correct in his approach of metaphysics and reasoning to define complex philosophical ideas. Hume’s focus on observation is actually in direct contrast with the Descartes’ rationalism. He anticipated that his empiricism will encourage thoughtfully designed procedures. These will help in resolving the conflict between rationalism and empiricism. According to Descartes humans are rational animals who can be guided or informed through reasoning (Descartes) whereas Hume argues that humans are the creatures of habit and customs similar to animals. He considers that people do what they see others doing (Hume). If we agree with Hume’s idea of experiencing things and formulate methods for further explanations then it would be difficult to expect humans excelling in various fields of life such as technology, medicine, chemistry etc. because one individual cannot experience everything in the world. Therefore reasons are found to be most suitable for explaining deep philosophical concepts. In order to comprehend the possibility of Descartes’ metaphysics even after Hume’s enquiry concerning human understanding it is important to first reflect upon the fundamental ideas presented by Descartes. For instance, he states that body and mind are actually two distinguished substances where substance is defined as an existing thing which does not require support of any other to exist (Descartes). If we agree with Descartes definition of substance then only God is the real substance which does not need any external support (Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy). Subsequently Descartes mentions that in sense of derivation created substances may be imagined because they only require God’s agreement to exist. These created substances can be in physical or abstract form. While discussing metaphysics Descartes further states that there is always one dominant characteristic of substance which develops its essence and nature, all other elements depend upon it (Descartes). Moreover, depth, breadth and length extension make up the nature of corporal substance and thought gives rise to the thinking substance. Thus the real essence of mind is a sound thought process whereas all other mental characteristics are only the modes of thinking, for instance, understanding, imagination, sensation etc. Contrary to this matter is extended through mass, movement, shape and volume. Every individual possess a mind or a mental substance whereas every person also has a body in order to interact with the outer world (Descartes). Descartes explained these concepts with conviction but he was confused about the interaction between mind and body. This is primarily because there are no common properties between mind and body according to him so it was significantly difficult to explain their relationship through reasoning. However, Descartes inability to define this interaction between mind and body can be justified through his analysis presented in Meditation Four which states the human possibility of error (Descartes). While discussing the concept of freewill Descartes mentioned that he thinks that human will is actually free but we can make errors in judgments. Since ‘will’ go beyond the understanding therefore humans sometimes agree to propositions which they do not fully comprehend. Additionally Descartes emphasizes that ‘will’ can be determined but at the same time it is free. In order for humans to be free it is unimportant for them to take no action while on the other side the more humans are inclined to do certain things the more freely they make their decisions (Descartes). When we aren’t able to choose any one direction then it is actually the lack of our understanding, knowledge and eventually the lowest level of freedom. This further focuses on the philosophy of metaphysics that if humans were able to see everything clear and would also be able to distinguish between good and bad as explained by Hume then the processing of judgment and selection must have lost their values (Descartes). We select few things and leave few other things because we cannot comprehend everything with all of its components and extensions. According to Descartes when people gain real intellect then they are also exposed to the inclination of will. Therefore when such people recognize a suitable thing for themselves then it is difficult for them to stay with the desire. He further added that people who indulge in to wrong activities actually do not consider their acts wrong. He emphasizes upon this concept by stating that if we clearly see that what we are doing is evil then we will probably not sin (Descartes). Religion and Science have been very important subjects for philosophical debate and even Descartes discussed these in his Meditations. According to him the concept of God and the spiritual aspects of humans are entirely different from the world that we see around us (Descartes). This further led him to notice that laws of physics can only be applied to the corporal substance. Moreover this explains that the philosophical science of metaphysics presented by Descartes is actually possible today because even in the contemporary world with all the modern technology we cannot explain the reasons behind the creation of the skies and the earth unless through reasoning. As opposed to Descartes, Hume was particularly influenced by the empirical philosophy and the scientific procedures. According to him he wanted to establish scientific procedures for mind as Newton did for the matter. Before Newton it was significantly difficult to explain the movement of objects and predict why planets travel in a certain direction (Hume). But after his research and establishment of the scientific laws, for instance, theories about gravity it has become easier to understand a lot of complex ideas concerning the physical world. Hume wanted to present similar explanations for the human behavior and understanding about the way we all think and perform different actions. Hume also mentions that we can think and reason about human understanding but since we don’t have any established principles therefore we cannot rely upon reasons and abstract debates (Hume). Research and analysis indicates that Hume wanted to explain human understanding through scientific procedures which usually consists of a thoughtfully designed methodology, tests, determinations and theories (Hume). This entire process actually helps us in making distinction about right and wrong. Hume believed that although it is difficult to always find the correct answer but the scientific procedures protect us from making incorrect conclusions. On the other hand philosophy does not have such procedures and philosophers mostly develop conflicting ideas (Hume). This significantly explains that Hume’s emphasis on science and observation is actually against Descartes’ philosophy of metaphysics. However, latter does not losses its value due to the concepts presented by former because soul, mind and God are such ideas which cannot be explained through scientific experiments. Moreover, Hume suggests that habit is the real element which creates perceptions and the association between different events (Hume) whereas Descartes argument is stronger in this respect as he emphasizes that humans are rational animals (Descartes, Meditations of First Philosophy) i.e. they possess greater abilities to think, reflect and make conclusions on their own. Descartes philosophy about metaphysics also explains the development of modern human civilization because certainly humans have status above all other creatures in this world due to their intellect and sound reasoning. Hence philosophical science such as Descartes is still possible even after Hume’s enquiry concerning human understanding. Works Cited Descartes, Rene. Meditations of First Philosophy. USA: ReadHowYouWant, 2006. Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy.  Philosophy Archive. 1639. Web. 9 Aug 2014. Fine, Kit. "What is metaphysics?" Tahko, Tuomas E. Contemporary Aristotelian Metaphysics. USA: Cambridge University Press, 2011. 8. Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Germany: tredition, 2012. Read More