1. Bacon writes that in investigating nature, “our only hope lies in a true induction†(#14). In #19, he explains that this method “derives axioms from the senses and particulars, rising by a gradual and unbroken ascent, so that it arrives at the most general axioms last of all.â€
a. Explain how this approach differs from the Cartesian method of deduction.
b. Would Descartes’ system be what Bacon calls in #44 an ‘Idol of the Theater� How so? How does such ‘idolatry’ impede the progress of ‘a true induction�
c. Explain Hume’s skeptical challenge to the reliability of induction, particularly with respect to what we called in class the Principle of the Uniformity of Nature.
2. In Section XI of the Enquiry, Epicurus says: “you have no ground to ascribe to him any qualities but what you see he has actually exerted and displayed in his production.â€
a. What does this mean? And what is the significance of this claim for speculative theology?
b. How is this claim consistent with Hume’s empiricism?
3. What does it mean for Kant to say that space and time are ‘forms of sensibility’ (or ‘forms of intuition’)? Why do these ‘forms’ set limits to the possibility of human knowledge?
4. Why does Kant think that the proposition “Every event has a cause†is a synthetic judgment? Explain what it means for the causal maxim to be both a synthetic judgment and an item of knowledge we have a priori. Finally, why is it important for natural science to establish that we have warrant to believe this?
5. What is the doctrine of the ‘thing-in-itself’ supposed to be, and what does Kant think is our epistemic relation to it? How might you criticize this doctrine? How might you defend it?
6. Explain what an antinomy of reason is supposed to be, and why (according to Kant) human reason has this ‘peculiar fate.’ Use an example from #51 of the Prolegomena (p. 700 of our text) to illustrate and clarify your answer.
7. In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant writes: “Intuitions without concepts are blind; thoughts without content are empty.†What does the first claim mean? What does the second claim mean? What do they mean when combined?
8. In Section V, Part II of the Enquiry, Hume writes that “the sentiment of belief is nothing but a conception more intense and steady than what attends the mere fictions of the imagination….†Explain what you understand Hume to mean in this passage. Can this be right? How does Kant’s doctrine of judgment differ from Hume’s account of belief?
9. What does Kant mean when he says, “although all our knowledge begins with experience, it does not follow that it all arises out of experience.†Compare this view with the doctrines of Descartes and Hume.
10. In Section XII, Part I of the Enquiry, Hume writes: “To have recourse to the veracity of the Supreme Being in order to prove the veracity of the senses is surely making a very unexpected circuit.†What response is Hume making to Descartes’ argument in Meditation Six for the existence of material things?
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