试论休谟因果问题中的两种内在矛盾

The Two Internal Contradictions in Hume's Explanation of Causal Problems

在休谟的整个认识论学说中,尽管经由洛克、贝克莱传承下来的经验论是其重要的基础,但他对因果问题的论述却被普遍认为是最有价值的部分。本文认为,虽然休谟大体上是运用经验论来解决因果问题,但在运用中却存在着两种内在的矛盾,亦即关于因果问题的两种表述之间的矛盾,以及经验论中"第一原则"与因果问题表述之间的矛盾。

In David Hume's epistemology,though the empiricism inherited from John Locke and George Berkeley is one cornerstone,his interpretation of causal problems is often considered the most valuable.The author of this paper holds that though Hume used epistemology to solve some causal problems,there were two internal contradictions in its application,one being the contradiction in the two expressions of causal problems,and the other the contradiction between 'the first principle' and the expression of causal problems in his empiricism.