Thanks, Wootah
When I write that each instant is sufficient in themselves very opposite to Hume's view, I mean that we are affected by a combination of natural laws that are necessarily continuous and coherent. This is exactly opposite to Hume and his notion that our experience of nature is just a habit or custom. Clearly, I argue differently. So be it, I don't have the time right now to make this whole. I'll be back. Cheers!
Edit: I think there is an example of a person putting a book in a drawer in Hume's writings. According to Hume then, we have
no reason to believe that the book is in the drawer the next time we enter the office. This is counter to my views of the necessarily continuous and coherent because I believe that just this instance is enough to make us believe that the book is still there unless there are conditions that can make it otherwise. The history of our minds show that it's impossible to change as a person from one instant to another. The continuity of the mind is bound to move forwards in time. We reason through the seasons and the years and
it can't be otherwise. The mind is forced to be
that history. I think the nature follows in similar fashion. More later!
Here I am again (I don't bother to make a new post)!
Some more from
Philosophyforums.
I want to make myself clear. (To mix me up with "Hume's Custom or Habit" in this thread is absolutely wrong!)
Factors
1. Consistency and coherency (deduced from Descartes' Meditations)
2. The sum of natural laws (the usual consideration of our beings in nature)
3. Logics and mathematics are necessary aspects of nature and our minds (I hold the view that logics and mathematics are for real in a variety of senses)
4. The factors of 1. through 3. bridge our experience from one instant to the next and so on. Forever?
5. Point beside: 1. through 4. refute, in my opinion, "Hume's Custom or Habit", the problem of induction.
I'm absolutely killing "Hume's Custom or Habit". As it says, I'm against Hume on this.
This schema can be used in every instance of the universe.
Examples (I'll provide two):
The book in the drawer example. We are in an office. We put a book in a drawer. We go out of the office. We go out of the house. We go out of the laboratory (a little bit unusual, a whole house in a laboratory). We wait 24 hrs (partying, binge drinking, whatever). We go back into the laboratory. We go into the house. We go into the office. We look into the drawer and there is our book. We can be absolutely certain of this in the first instance from my argument. In this example, we discount natural disasters, ie. big meteors landing on the laboratory and so on. We also discount any dishonest activity in this regard.
The sun rising the next morning example. We have a fabulous day and enjoy life. We go to bed in the evening and we expect the sun to rise the next morning. In this, we make the following inference. Our Sun in our solar system is not about to die, exploding and consuming earth, ceasing to support life on earth. We don't know of any threatening meteors on the verge to devastate life on earth. The earth keeps its path and tilting pattern because there is nothing there to prevent this. We live in relative safety as we are outside earthquake zones and dubious neighbourhoods. (Added: ) We are also not threatened by global nuclear war. We wake up in the morning to a clear, blue sky and a beautiful sunrise. This sunrise is absolutely certain this day, Sept. 18. 2009. We can be absolutely certain of this in the first instance from my argument.
Edit: Instead of making the direct predictions, I think it's worthwhile to ask oneself of what there is that can be different. Why should the nature be otherwise? Then you can make the predictions.
