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Study
Questions for Final Exam Your third test will consist of an extended essay answer to one of the questions below. You will not know which question until the day of the test.
(1) Hume claims that, “the effect is totally different from the cause, and consequently can never be discovered in it.” He is insistent that, "every effect is a distinct event from its cause" (Enquiry, section IV). He goes so far as to argue that there can be no rational justification of cause and effect. What is his argument for that position? As part of the presentation of his argument, explain the distinction between matters of fact and relations of ideas. Evaluate his views on causation.
(2) In book II, part III,
sections I and II of A Treatise on Human Nature, David Hume
claims that we can be held morally responsible for our behaviour even if
it is governed by necessity.
Write
an essay in which you do all of the following: (a) explain what Hume
means by an act being governed by necessity; (b) explain why he thinks
we are governed by necessity; (c) explain why he thinks the governance
of the will by necessity is essential for explaining moral
responsibility, and (d) evaluate his position. |