I
purpose, therefore, to limit myself to those propositions which
concern--1. Necessary Truths; 2. The Order of Nature; 3. The Soul; 4.
Theism; 5. The Passions and Volition; 6. The Principle of Morals.
Hume's views respecting necessary truths, and more particularly
concerning causation, have, more than any other part of his teaching,
contributed to give him a prominent place in the history of philosophy.
"All the objects of human reason and inquiry may naturally be
divided into two kinds, to wit, _relations of ideas_ and _matters
of fact_. Of the first kind are the sciences of geometry, algebra,
and arithmetic, and, in short, every affirmation which is either
intuitively or demonstratively certain. _That the square of the
hypothenuse is equal to the square of the two sides_, is a
proposition which expresses a relation between these two figures.
_That three times five is equal to the half of thirty_, expresses a
relation between these numbers. Propositions of this kind are
discoverable by the mere operation of thought without dependence on
whatever is anywhere existent in the universe. Though there never
were a circle or a triangle in nature, the truths demonstrated by
Euclid would for ever retain their certainty and evidence.
"Matters of fact, which are the second objects of human reason, are
not ascertained in the same manner, nor is an evidence of their
truth, however great, of a like nature with the foregoing.
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