A Treatise of Human Nature · Chapter
Section VII: Of Abstract Ideas explained
Hume argues that all ideas are particular in nature, derived from impressions, and become general only through custom and association with general terms.
What happens
Hume argues that all ideas are particular in nature, derived from impressions, and become general only through custom and association with general terms. He refutes the notion of abstract or general ideas, explaining that a general term revives a custom that allows the mind to recall particular ideas as needed. He also introduces the 'distinction of reason' to explain how we can distinguish aspects of a single object, such as figure and color, based on resemblances.
Themes in this chapter
Empiricism and the Primacy of Impressions
Hume grounds his argument in the principle that all ideas are copies of impressions, emphasizing their particularity and dependence on sensory experience.
Custom and General Rules
The chapter explains how general terms and abstract ideas function through custom and habit, which allow the mind to apply particular ideas universally.
Characters to notice
- David Hume
Author and narrator, presenting his theory of abstract ideas and distinction of reason.
Key passages
“Abstract ideas are therefore in themselves individual, however they may become general in their representation.”
Abstract ideas are actually particular in their own nature, but they can be made to represent many things through their application.
Hume's central thesis on abstract ideas.
“The word raises up an individual idea, along with a certain custom; and that custom produces any other individual one, for which we may have occasion.”
A general term triggers a specific idea and a habit that can bring to mind any other relevant particular idea as needed.
Explanation of how general terms operate via custom.
“Thus when a globe of white marble is presented, we receive only the impression of a white colour disposed in a certain form, nor are we able to separate and distinguish the colour from the form.”
When we see a white marble globe, we perceive the color and shape as a single impression, without initially separating them.
Illustration of the distinction of reason.