Greetings,
But DMB, there is a very serious point here and it is vital to the health of the forum. I'm still
doing nothing but making a considered judgement of the way you conduct yourself on a continuing
basis and am sorry you see it otherwise. This time you subject David Hume to the same treatment as
you have many others by writing, with reference to Hume and Locke:
"They liked to think that our minds were like the wall inside the camera, accurately reflecting an
objective picture of the outside world."
Actually Hume thought the opposite. ". . the perceptions of the mind must be caused by external
objects, entirely different from them, though resembling them." (An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding, Hackett, 1977, pg 105) and "The senses alone are not to be relied upon," (Ibid.
pg104).
Hume was deeply and profoundly sceptical about the ability of the senses to portray an accurate
picture of the outside world and disappointed by what he saw as his failure to justify knowledge as
rational. "This is a topic, therefore, in which the profounder and more philosophical sceptics will
always triumph, when they endeavour to introduce an universal doubt into all subjects of human
knowledge and enquiry," (Ibid. pg105) or, "matter. . . is only a certain unknown, inexplicable
something." (Ibid.) It was this very point which was one of the great turning points in philosophy
and almost single handedly resulted in the drive to modern relativism. It really does grieve me to
see a great, profound and complex thinker like Hume have his ideas not just bastardised, but totally
reversed and it is an insult to him and everyone else that you cannot, or will not, think about what
he actually wrote.
I really don't see that I have any other right course of action but to complain and that is
precisely what I have done and am doing again. Once again you simply write off what you can't
comprehend and distort what you have the most tenuous grip on. Is it really just me who thinks that
this is unacceptable? Is it just me who believes that thinkers like Hume (and everyone else) should
not be treated in this way? It is so disheartening that a forum of this quality should be defecated
on with such regularity. I'm not just talking about minor mistakes, paraphrasing, calls for
clarification and slight misinterpretations, but complete reversal of standpoints and total
invention of arguments.
As John put it recently. "If you want to argue with me, fine, but please don't put words in my
mouth." I suggest that those who want to see constructive, progressive and intelligent debate should
insist that this simple request be put into practice and extended to everyone, living and dead. The
result of allowing David (especially) to continue, will be the ongoing dissemination of falsehood
and ignorance for which everyone will suffer. Can you imagine a world where nobody reads primary
sources any more and that great man Hume is thought of as the bloke who claimed that our minds are,
" like the wall inside the camera, accurately reflecting an objective picture of the outside world."
We ALL have a moral duty to stop that and where better to start than here?
Struan
P.S. Yes I do have the confidence to take issue with the Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Its called
critical thinking. I recommend RM. Pirsig, he has a lot to say on the matter and puts it better than
most.
------------------------------------------
Struan Hellier
< mailto:struan@clara.co.uk>
"All our best activities involve desires which are disciplined and
purified in the process."
(Iris Murdoch)
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