HUME: Advocating a “mitigated skepticism”

Let’s review this… My next door neighbors consist of a bachelor and his wife. Can you consider this statement to be “true” or “false?” Analytic statement: a statement we can determine is true or false, without examining facts.

Now, let’s review this… My next door neighbors consist of a man with red hair and his fat wife. Could THIS statement be considered “true” or “false?” Synthetic statement: a statement that requires us to examine facts to determine whether or not it is true.

Now, consider this… If one discovered that the neighbors did consist of a man with red hair and a fat wife, one might ask was the man’s hair really red? Was the wife really fat? Could one be absolutely certain?

ESSENTIAL IDEAS Certainty, in matters of fact, is not available to us. We cannot observe feelings, sensations, emotions, or thoughts outside of ourselves.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS Questions of fact MIGHT be settled only by observation. FEELINGS of certainty are NOT knowledge.

ESSENTIAL IDEAS Outside of mathematics, conclusive proof plays no part in human affairs. We DO NOT REALLY know anything; we could expect things. Expectations are not the same as knowledge.

TASK: In your philo-log, record some thoughts about how these ideas relate to historical events. For example, consider something like the Salem witch trials. What did the individuals involved think they knew? What did they think was certain? Could they really be certain? Why or why not?

FINAL TASK Share, with your partner, your historical or cultural example. As part of discourse, for this entry, consider the following question: Why might an individual be SO certain about the “truth” he or she perceives in the situation?