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  • Essay / The concept of the copy principle in David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature

    The concept of the copy principle is prevalent in David Hume's Treatise on Human Nature. The idea of ​​the copy principle is that simple ideas arise from simple impressions. Hume defines impression as “sensations, passions, and emotions” while ideas are “the faint images of others in thought and reasoning” (Hume 208). Empiricism is best understood as humans gaining knowledge through experience (via the senses). I agree with Hume's argument for empiricism. Throughout history, it has been shown that humans learn best through trial and error and experience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Hume presents a series of cases to support his claims and his first begins by asserting that simple ideas and impressions fit into a cycle in which each idea has a corresponding impression that resembles it and each impression has an idea to support it. Ideas and impressions are supposed to be similar because they represent each other. Another case discussed by Hume is that of the origin of ideas and impressions and he identifies which is the cause and the effect. He states that impressions always come first and that an idea does not perfectly correspond to an impression. He says that we “see no color and feel no sensation merely by thinking about them” and that although these two notions are related, ideas lack the “force and vividness” that impressions possess (Hume 210). This brings us to a third instance in which Hume describes how ideas and impressions, although very similar, are not identical. We can have an idea of ​​something without ever actually encountering it, because we use our imagination and merge pre-existing ideas. Hume concludes his argument by discussing human actions. Humans are prone to act on their impressions, because most humans are impulsive creatures. We use prints to realize ideas and this goes back to the principle of copying which is a cycle. The impressions provide a backdrop for the ideas we end up implementing. I agree with Hume's theory of the copying principle because it makes sense that for a human to implement an idea, a print lies beneath it. This idea contributes directly to empiricism because it is through experience that humans form ideas and ideas. This is how inventions and progress are made. Humans take separate ideas that they already know and can merge them to create a new idea or they can think of new inventions to solve a problem. Impression is a human emotion and with it comes a need to create, which leads to the formulation and invention of an idea. The principle of copying can be seen throughout time, which is how we are here today.