Isaac Chan’s Reviews > An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding > Status Update
Isaac Chan
is on page 77 of 304
Note 4/n:
in non-humans, I cannot infer that this means that homosexuality SHOULD be allowed among humans. There is a missing link from the premise to the conclusion.) So Hume's approach runs into the is-ought problem as well. I observe that all ideas correspond with an impression, yes, but I cannot rush to the conclusion that every idea SHOULD correspond with an impression! There is a missing link in the logical ...
— 7 hours, 50 min ago
in non-humans, I cannot infer that this means that homosexuality SHOULD be allowed among humans. There is a missing link from the premise to the conclusion.) So Hume's approach runs into the is-ought problem as well. I observe that all ideas correspond with an impression, yes, but I cannot rush to the conclusion that every idea SHOULD correspond with an impression! There is a missing link in the logical ...
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Isaac’s Previous Updates
Isaac Chan
is on page 78 of 304
Note n/n:
governed by the same maxims as the vulgar, especially in the active parts of life.
(I can also see now how deeply seeped in scholasticism the pre-Cartesians were, with their dogma of the superiority of human reason; and this allows me to see how compatible Aristotelianism is with Christianity, which made it so popular.)
— 7 hours, 47 min ago
governed by the same maxims as the vulgar, especially in the active parts of life.
(I can also see now how deeply seeped in scholasticism the pre-Cartesians were, with their dogma of the superiority of human reason; and this allows me to see how compatible Aristotelianism is with Christianity, which made it so popular.)
Isaac Chan
is on page 78 of 304
Note 8/n:
less prestigious university, or people who speak in a heavy accent. I do not necessarily possess any superior insight into the 'real', deeper nature of things than anyone else - we are all bound by analogical reasoning and induction.
A Platonist might hold that philosophers are intellectually superior to others due to our deeper understanding of the Forms, but a Humean humbly realises that we are ...
— 7 hours, 48 min ago
less prestigious university, or people who speak in a heavy accent. I do not necessarily possess any superior insight into the 'real', deeper nature of things than anyone else - we are all bound by analogical reasoning and induction.
A Platonist might hold that philosophers are intellectually superior to others due to our deeper understanding of the Forms, but a Humean humbly realises that we are ...
Isaac Chan
is on page 77 of 304
Note 7/n:
goes to Dr Millican, as always.
'On the reason of animals' was humbling not just on an inter-species level, but on an intra level as well. If all living things possess but the same animalistic mode of reasoning, then there is zero justification for me to feel superior about my own reasoning compared to certain groups of people, e.g. people who may have less formal education than I have, or attended a ...
— 7 hours, 49 min ago
goes to Dr Millican, as always.
'On the reason of animals' was humbling not just on an inter-species level, but on an intra level as well. If all living things possess but the same animalistic mode of reasoning, then there is zero justification for me to feel superior about my own reasoning compared to certain groups of people, e.g. people who may have less formal education than I have, or attended a ...
Isaac Chan
is on page 77 of 304
Note 6/n:
the Treatise. But my challenge to Hume last night was that he must now explain why humans are so intellectually superior to the beasts. And I read this morning that Hume answers this in his endnote: I will read it tonight. Ha.
I would not have known that Darwin's personal notes show that he read 'On the reason of animals' around the time that he was embarking in his groundbreaking revolution. The credit...
— 7 hours, 49 min ago
the Treatise. But my challenge to Hume last night was that he must now explain why humans are so intellectually superior to the beasts. And I read this morning that Hume answers this in his endnote: I will read it tonight. Ha.
I would not have known that Darwin's personal notes show that he read 'On the reason of animals' around the time that he was embarking in his groundbreaking revolution. The credit...
Isaac Chan
is on page 77 of 304
Note 5/n:
reasoning (there must be a medium). I wonder if Hume even realised this fallacy in his reasoning.
Also, I am smugly feeling like a philosophical genius now, because I accurately anticipated the key objection to Hume's 'Of the reason of animals'. I had accepted Hume's argument that humans possess merely the same mode of reasoning as the beasts (i.e. analogical reasoning and custom) since my reading of ...
— 7 hours, 50 min ago
reasoning (there must be a medium). I wonder if Hume even realised this fallacy in his reasoning.
Also, I am smugly feeling like a philosophical genius now, because I accurately anticipated the key objection to Hume's 'Of the reason of animals'. I had accepted Hume's argument that humans possess merely the same mode of reasoning as the beasts (i.e. analogical reasoning and custom) since my reading of ...
Isaac Chan
is on page 76 of 304
Note 3/n:
experience, i.e. doing experiments and not relying on metaphysical speculation and armchair theorizing.
I wonder if this approach has philosophical grounding. For example, there is the is-ought problem, of course expounded by Hume himself! When I observe a set of phenomena of what IS, pure reason cannot infer from that observation of what SHOULD be! (e.g. when I observe that homosexual behaviour occurs...
— 7 hours, 52 min ago
experience, i.e. doing experiments and not relying on metaphysical speculation and armchair theorizing.
I wonder if this approach has philosophical grounding. For example, there is the is-ought problem, of course expounded by Hume himself! When I observe a set of phenomena of what IS, pure reason cannot infer from that observation of what SHOULD be! (e.g. when I observe that homosexual behaviour occurs...
Isaac Chan
is on page 76 of 304
Note 2/n:
cleanse our reasonings with analogical reasoning, i.e. ranking the quality of the evidence of our reasoning by how closely they resemble the original object. A clearer example of what I mean by how Hume directly imposes positivity into normativity is that he deduces that all human knowledge is grounded in experience, then the takeaway of this philosophy is that all human knowledge SHOULD be grounded in ...
— 7 hours, 52 min ago
cleanse our reasonings with analogical reasoning, i.e. ranking the quality of the evidence of our reasoning by how closely they resemble the original object. A clearer example of what I mean by how Hume directly imposes positivity into normativity is that he deduces that all human knowledge is grounded in experience, then the takeaway of this philosophy is that all human knowledge SHOULD be grounded in ...
Isaac Chan
is on page 76 of 304
Note 1/n:
1 key observation from Hume's epistemology thus far is that he seems to be deducing a positive philosophy of human reasoning, and then he imposes that positive deduction into the normative sphere. What I mean is that he (probably correctly) concludes that all our reasonings concerning matters of fact are grounded in analogical reasoning and custom, then the takeaway for this deduction is that we should ...
— 7 hours, 53 min ago
1 key observation from Hume's epistemology thus far is that he seems to be deducing a positive philosophy of human reasoning, and then he imposes that positive deduction into the normative sphere. What I mean is that he (probably correctly) concludes that all our reasonings concerning matters of fact are grounded in analogical reasoning and custom, then the takeaway for this deduction is that we should ...
Isaac Chan
is on page 75 of 304
Note n/n:
It is obvious to me that God loves us and knows us so well as his people, that he granted us free will, but at the same time he already knows what choices we will freely make, like how a father knows his children will choose candy over plain bread.
— Feb 25, 2026 06:10AM
It is obvious to me that God loves us and knows us so well as his people, that he granted us free will, but at the same time he already knows what choices we will freely make, like how a father knows his children will choose candy over plain bread.
Isaac Chan
is on page 75 of 304
Note 6/n:
circumstances. That does not mean they were determined to make said choices! I also KNOW (in the common, natural language sense of the word) that my boss would be furious if I slapped him across the face, and I KNOW that I will get fired if I slapped GMD across the face, but that doesn't mean they are determined to happen.
— Feb 25, 2026 06:10AM
circumstances. That does not mean they were determined to make said choices! I also KNOW (in the common, natural language sense of the word) that my boss would be furious if I slapped him across the face, and I KNOW that I will get fired if I slapped GMD across the face, but that doesn't mean they are determined to happen.
