Topic > How Hume's Bundled Self Theory Influences His Reasoning About Identity

Introduction to PhilosophyHume Paper-How Does Hume's Bundled Self Theory Influence His Reasoning About Personal Identity and to morality? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe Scottish philosopher David Hume is notable in history for his skepticism and devotion to his reasoning, along with his well-known disputes over many of the metaphysical concepts of his predecessor's speculations. Hume was a self-described sceptic, a man who was always looking for hard evidence. This passion for truth led many to believe he was an atheist, even though he was a firm agnostic. Hume is best known for his theory of the self, a philosophy that insists that "the self is only a bundle of impressions, and that identity is a mental act, not a property of things." In short, he believed that we are who we are because we see ourselves as such, not because we actually are. This rigid belief system caused him to have different views on personal identity and morality than other philosophers of his time such as Locke and Berkeley. Hume believed that personal immortality was a meaningless concept. He argued that it is not possible to have a persistent self if every time we see ourselves, our perceptions are different. His argument applied to the afterlife in the sense that "any change in a thing (such as bodily death) changes its identity." His theory of the self led Hume to believe that there was actually no “self,” but simply a collection of perceptions. This led him to mentally reduce people to just a list of simple characteristics that were perceptions and perhaps ideas. and he truly believed that we have no persistent self, only a mental laziness that allows us to ignore the truth of things. His position on morality was similar to that of immortality: strictly based on facts. He petitioned for the reform of moral philosophy, rejecting abstract science and pushing for the application of the experimental method to ethics. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Hume's bundle theory of the self, we are guided to see our thoughts and perceptions as selves, beings that exist in time and do not change from day to day. No matter how we spin our observations, we can never record anything beyond feelings, sensations, or impressions, and this is what Hume insists the self is made of. His theory led him to consider personal identity and morality as matters beyond direct control, since in reality we are nothing more than a bundle of thoughts and feelings. Works Cited Hume, D. (1739). A treatise on human nature. Oxford University Press.Allison, H. E. (2008). Hume's theory of personal identity. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2008/entries/hume-identity/Garrett, D. (2015). Personal identity and self as narrative: theoretical and therapeutic dimensions. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 28(4), 323-336. doi:10.1080/10720537.2014.977168 Harris, H. A. (2013). Hume on the identity of persons. Journal of the history of philosophy, 51(4), 605-633. doi:10.1353/hph.2013.0063 Jenkins, J. J. (2010). Hume, personal identity and bundle theory. European Journal of Philosophy, 18(3), 366-387. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0378.2008.00316.xLodge, P. (2017). Hume's theory of the self and the cognitive science of awareness. Report, 30(4), 403-420. doi:10.1111/rati.12153Noonan, H. W. (2003). Personal identity and bundle theory. Analysis, 63(1), 27-32. doi:10.1093/analys/63.1.27Owen, D. (2019). There, 49(2),200949214