We have all experienced - in one way or another - the causal link between a cause and it's effect. One thing seems to be the cause of another - fire causes smoke, etc.
According to David Hume, there is no causal link or ontological link between cause and effect. What we perceive as the ontological connection between the two is merely a psychological link. What Hume means by this is that we observe one thing coming as a result of another, and after observing this a number of times we infer the cause/effect principle on what we see. So this connection is nothing but the work of our cognitive faculty (reason or the mind), hence his so-called 'psychological link' which arises from what he calls "custom" or "habit".
For example: being a smoker, I have associated the habit/custom of smoking a cigarrette with what seems to be it's effect, namely the relief of stress or the calming of nerves, etc. Is this cause-effect link an ontological one or merely an association made by the mind?
2006-06-23
06:10:45
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7 answers
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Anonymous
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Philosophy