Down with Hume, up with Reid

[ChaneyBrinkmanBurlin]

@berettaNZ, I know *exactly* what I'm responding to. I'm responding to Philosobard's and others' comments about Hume which are manifestly untrue and which betray the ignorance of YouTube viewers when it comes to philosophy.

[ChaneyBrinkmanBurlin]

What's really quite humorous about this video is not simply that it misrepresents Hume, but that Hume and Reid agree about so much!

[ChaneyBrinkmanBurlin]

Philosobard, you are confusing the claim that our causal inferences are not determined by reason with the claim that our causal inferences are irrational or unjustified. Hume makes a descriptive, not a normative, claim. He says that our causal inferences are not produced by the faculty of reason, not that they are unjustified. In fact, it is perfectly obvious from a cursory reading of the Treatise and Enquiry that he thinks they are justified.

[ChaneyBrinkmanBurlin]

A couple of people have claimed that it misrepresents Hume?!!! You are an absolute imbecile! Have you read *any* of the secondary literature on Hume? The general consensus among Hume commentators throughout the whole of the 20th century and now into the 21st century is that Hume is *not* an inductive skeptic. Needless to say, YouTube is not the place to argue about this. I'm not given enough characters ...

[berettaNZ]

@ChaneyBrinkmanBurlin I don't think you know what you're responding to.

[granddad2002]

Skepticism in itself requires that all claims are subject to evidence. Common sense is a faculty to manage known circumstances and valid practical tasking. The Universe or the proposed divine may have no interest in what we pedestrians experience as common sense.

[AshleyKScott]

Is that a TURBAN?! Lol!

[YurChuck23]

you've got my vote lol

[feidaoming1]

nice effort at an english accent

[berettaNZ]

@feidaoming1 English? I was just using my own accent. I'm a New Zealander.

[superstar122251]

poor hume

[ethanatorm]

The fact that this misrepresents Hume is what makes it so hilarious. Isn't the point of making a parody of political attack ads that such ads rely exclusively on straw man arguments?

[berettaNZ]

@ethanatorm A couple of people have calimed that it misrepresents Hume, but in fact it doesn't. It's not flattering to think of Hume's view so plainly stated, but I'm sorry, this is what Hume said.

[Tibberclaw]

lol. This totally misrepresents Hume.

[berettaNZ]

Not.

[Mmmousemaid]

He is one of my favourite philosophers.

Mmmousemaid

[444DeanMachine]

is that a turban? haha

[decky04123]

My name is Thomas Reid xD

[itssolastcentury]

There, there.

[tomheppy]

This is incorrect. Hume does not say that we cannot rely on inductive reasoning. He just says that it does not follow from deductive reasoning.

[Philosobard]

Well, let's be clear: Hume says we DO rely on induction, but that it's merely "out of custom and habit." But he most certainly DID show that, using a strictly empirical epistemology, we have no rational basis for trusting induction. He pointed out that there was no question-begging way to justify the belief that future causal events would behave like they have in the past. So the video's characterization of this famous (and embarrassing) upshot of Hume's epistemology is exactly correct.

[TripleEvent]

@Philosobard I assume you meant to say "no NON-question-begging way".

[berettaNZ]

tomheppy, Hume's argument was a little less obvious than the claim that induction does not lead to deduction. It was that induction itself cannot be justified to someone skeptical of it. That's why his argument is referred to as an argument concerning the "problem of induction."

[Nervousification]

@berettaNZ Very true, but he did never the less admit that induction works, even though it makes absolutely no sense to him. Ergo; it would be a misrepresentation to call him a hypocrite for using induction himself. Also, and I may be wrong, since he defined 'miracles' as anything that breaks the known laws of nature and claimed that the laws of nature are uniform, then if a miracle did occur, the law it broke would not be uniform, thus not a law, thus not a miracle.

[berettaNZ]

@Nervousification Well, he admitted that we use it and we get by using it. But to found one of his allegedly greatest arguments (against miracles) on a principle that his other greatest argument is committed to claiming cannot be *justified*, yeah I think there's an element of hypocrisy there. And humour.

[Nervousification]

@berettaNZ If he admitted that we get by using induction, doesn't that mean he would use induction without being a hypocrite? If you don't agree, then we've reached a stone wall and thus should move on from logical argument and just berate one another. Allow me to begin: Ya fucking cock eyed wanking moron, Hume shits on you and your mama!! #OnlyOnYouTube

[thoughtheglass]

hmmmn- this makes me want to visit the stanford philosophy encyclopedia!

[mrfatd]

hahahaha this guy is funny. ok Im convinced to vote for reid now

[Guaguanco11]

Reid has nothing over Hume, which explains why his supporters must resort to political propaganda to prop up his philosophy!

[rockonmadonna]

It would be great to see an add attacking Hobbes and for Locke or attacking Rousseau's political philosphy. I would make them if I were any good with computers. Keep it up!

[rockonmadonna]

Fantastic ad complete with the cheesy happy music and sunset over water! Witty criticism of Hume's "Of Miracles"! I love Reid, and I've never cared for Hume! In an epistemology class the professor actually presented Locke (indirect realism), Reid (direct realism), Berkeley (idealism), and Hume (skepticism).

Also, it's great to see there are actually intelligent people on YouTube! Wow!

[LordImmolation]

I'll give you 5 for the comedy....but I like Hume!

[Velitoptorix]

Induction Now! Hell no, we think we know!

[NeoChalcedonian]

Excellent video. I put all videos like this on my playlist. Please make more!