Hume on the Idea of Self

Hume on the Idea of Self

Despite the seemingly innate belief that one's thoughts and feelings stem from some source of self that is in constant existence.Hume denies that any such source lives in creation due to the fact that "no proof can be derived from any fact, of which we are so intimately conscious" He says that to seek further proof of the existence of self will not strengthen but will the idea because he says that there is no factual evidence of it. From what impression can the idea of self be derived? Hume says that this is impossible to derive without forming some sort of contradiction along the way but it is a question that must be answered if we are going to accept the idea of any conscious self existing.

According to Hume, if we are to accept the idea of self it has to give rise to every real idea but self is not one impression. It is supposedly that which all our impressions reference. He says that if any impression gives any strength to the idea of self, then this source must continue through the rest of our lives since self is supposed to continually exist. Sensations such as pain and pleasure or grief and joy succeed one another and never exist at the same time. For this reason it cannot be proven therefore, there is no such idea. He believes that we are always perceiving. He claims that he "stumbles" upon many perceptions when he looks deeply into himself. He is never without a perception and all he can observe is perception.

He goes on further to say that when perceptions are removed, during periods of sleep for example, that he may truly be said to not exist. He thinks that once he dies and can no longer perceive anything, he is"annihilated." He truly sets out to prove to everyone that we are merely a bundle of perceptions which flow smoothly one after the other. He wants us to know that everything requires a shift in perception from the shifting of the eyelids to the opening of our mouths. He compares the mind to a theatre where "several perceptions successively make their appearance: pass, repass, glide away, and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situations."

But we must not be fooled by the analogy of the theater. We have no notion of where the "scenes" are represented or the materials they are composed of . Based on this, he says that we have means to properly ascribe an identity to these qualities and therefore, one does not exist.

In conclusion, Humes' argument is that there is no such concept as a conscious self since there is no way constantly perceive such an idea. Based on his belief that all that exists is perception, there can be nothing that exists that cannot be perceived.