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Hume: Philosophy of Language

Reading-Group Comment

This week’s session of the Philosophy Community’s reading group is based on Hume’s Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

The essay is very interesting and makes some powerful points about the types of mental activities. Hume divides our mental processes into ideas and impressions. Ideas are drawn from the imagination or memory and are therefore less vivid and powerful. Impressions include our more lively perceptions and sensations such as vision or emotions. For example, an idea would be a gold mountain – a combination of the impressions of gold and a mountain aided by the imagination.

The point that I found most interesting in the essay was Hume’s expansion of the hierarchy of mental processes (the derivation of ideas from impressions) to its application on language.

Descartes' Meditations

Reading-Group Comment [3]

The 9rules Philosophy Community led by Benedict Eastaugh has begun a Reading Group where community readers and members will discuss a selected philosophical writing. This session’s writing is Descartes’ First Meditation and if you’re a little late to the party but still want to participate, you can find an online copy here.

If you don’t have a blog or are otherwise unable to write about your thoughts elsewhere, I have set up a forum for the reading group.

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