Ruth Weintraub PhD

June 1st until September 30th, 2021

Affiliation: Tel Aviv University

Research for a study about:

Was Hume a Methodological Empiricist?

Lecture

Is Hume a Methodological Empiricist?

Date:  June 17th

Time: 3–5pm (CET)

Online Plattform: Moodle Collaborate| Talks in Philosophy of Science and Epistemology PSE

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Abstract:

The question broached in the title may sound odd. It makes sense to ask whether Hume's empiricism is successful, and whether it is the best way of rendering rigorous the (vague) empiricist view. But isn't it obvious that Hume is a methodological empiricist? To address this question, I will distinguish between the theoretical question, pertaining to the methodological view Hume endorses, and the practical question, concerned with the way he conducts his inquiry. My conclusion will be that only with respect to the first question is Hume an empiricist; that he is not a practicing empiricist, often violating his own empiricist decrees.