Essay on Of Necessity and Liberty - 1702 Words

For ages, Philosophers have struggled with the dispute of whether human actions are performed â€Å"at liberty† or not. â€Å"It is â€Å"the most contentious question, of metaphysics, the most contentious science† (Hume 528). In Section VIII of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume turns his attention in regards to necessary connection towards the topics â€Å"Of Liberty and Necessity.† Although the two subjects may be one of the most arguable questions in philosophy, Hume suggests that the difficulties and controversies surrounding liberty (i.e. free will) and necessity (i.e. causal determinism) are simply a matter of the disputants not having properly defined their terms. He asserts that all people, â€Å"both learned and†¦show more content†¦If circumstances were to be repeated exactly the same, there could be no other outcome than what is expected. He illustrate that the concepts of necessary connections and causation result only f rom the observation of constant conjunction, â€Å"where similar objects are constantly conjoined together and the mind is determined by custom to infer the one from the appearance of another† (Hume 523). Hume progress about how human actions are necessary with a claim that there is a â€Å"great uniformity among all the actions of mankind† (Hume 523). He finds that throughout history, across cultures and across ages, human actions and behaviors remains relatively constant. Therefore, Hume emphasize that similar motives produce similar actions and similar causes produce similar events. Human passions and qualities such as â€Å"ambition, avarice, self-love, vanity, friendship, generosity, public spirit,† (Hume 523) all which have been created from the beginning of time, are still relevant sources of all the actions and driving source that is still observed among human beings—they all spring from a certain regularity and expectation. Although Hume’s definition of necessity and its association to human actions seems to be progression well, his abrupt argument that constant conjunction between human motives and actions is problematic; therefore, making his whole argument thus far faulty. He states that any apparentShow MoreRelatedHume Liberty and Necessity1026 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom, eh? In Section 8 of Hume’s Enquiry titled â€Å"Of Liberty and Necessity†, Hume wants to discuss what liberty and necessity mean and whether or not they can be compatible with each other. This is all really a discussion of Hume’s view of free will and determinism, and how they can be easily reconciled through compatibilism where for example both liberty and necessity are required for morality. He starts off by considering the idea of necessity and defines it as, â€Å"the constant conjunction of similarRead MoreSurveillance: A Welcome Necessity or a Frightening Imposition on Liberties1223 Words   |  5 Pagesfocuses on the surveillor, either through the single authority figure or via the larger infrastructure of government interventions. The movie and the Panoptic model questions the degree to which such surveillance is a welcome necessity or a frightening imposition on liberties. The citizens in London in this story have allowed their government too much control and power, because they were afraid of war, terrorism, and disease. 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