DANU ANDREEA-CORNELIA

English Minor
1st group
3rd year

BOOK ONE (A TREATISE OF HUMAN NATURE. OF THE UNDERSTANDING.)

SECTION I (in which the author establishes the first principle in the science of human
nature) IMPRESSIONS => IDEAS
The understanding of human nature, as Hume explains it, is made of a string of
multiple abstract concepts (e.g: sensation, impression, idea, etc) which derive
from one another. The conclusions drawn in the first section of book one are that
human nature is a science; like any other science, it functions on several
principles; the first principle is the following one:

SO: Every idea has a preceding perception (usually one conveyed by our senses);
e.g: for the idea of colour to be born, the colour must first be seen and mentally
processed by the individual.

SECTION II (an overview and an extension of the first principle)

Impressions are usually prior to ideas.
1. Those of SENSATION
Impressions can be divided into two types: (they have unknown causes)
2. Those of REFLEXION
(they are derived from ideas)
The author stresses upon the importance of the order of concepts functioning in
the second type of impressions, so he comes up with the following formula:
IMPRESSIONS => IDEAS => IMPRESSIONS OF REFLEXION => (with help from
memory and imagination) IDEAS => OTHER IMPRESSIONS & IDEAS
m
Impressions come from the senses (sensations), then they are mentally processed
and become ideas, which can be remembered and turned into impressions of
reflexion.
Ideas are copies of impressions and they are residing in our mind (such as
pleasure or pain). They can be rememorized by the individual and turned into the

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 so called impressions of reflexion. From there on, impressions of reflexion
can/will be undertaken by memory and imagination and turned back into ideas;
the process moves on to other impression and ideas.

SECTION III (an overview on the concept of ideas, as understood by Hume)

Impressions turn into ideas in two ways: 1. Either they become a hybrid of the
two, in which case they can be repeated by use of memory OR 2. They end up as
an idea and they can be repeated by use of imagination.
Differences between the two types of ideas:

Ideas of MEMORY Ideas of IMAGINATION

- Strong
- Lively
- Objects in distinct colours
- When rememorizing a past event: the
perception is bold, forcible; it can
easily be preserved by the mind for a
considerable amount of time
- Memory does not permit any sort of
variation from the original
correspondent impressions (e.g: the
form remains unchanged)
- Weak
- Faint
- Objects in less distinct colours
- When imagining an event: the
perception is faint and languid; it is
fairly mentally difficult to preserve it
for any considerable amount of time
and the details are scarce
- Imagination permits form and order
variation from the original
correspondent impressions

The author introduces a second principle: of the liberty of the

imagination to transpose and change its ideas

SECTION IV (in which the author talks about how simple ideas can be connected one to
another so they become complex ones)
Imagination separates and unites simple ideas by following some
universal principles.
For ideas to connect, a certain common quality must exist, thus the
uniting principle among ideas.
By uniting, simple ideas become complex ideas. Therefore, the author
finds it necessary to expand upon this subject and talk about the three
qualities used by the mind in making associations between ideas. These
are:

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 1. Resemblance (a sufficient quality in itself to form an association or a
bond)
2. Contiguity in time or place (imagination connects the objects perceived by
our senses by this quality)
3. Cause & Effect (the most efficient quality and, at the same time, the most
extensive one; e.g: blood relations and social relations/ relations of
interest and duty, by which men influence each other in society and are
placd in the ties of government and subordination;)
Complex ideas are divided into: a. Relations; b. Modes; c. Substances
SECTION V (in which the author talks about the first one of the three divisions of
complex ideas)

That of quality, in which two ideas

which are interconnected in the
imagination introduce one another.
RELATION has two senses:

That of a particular circumstance, in

which two ideas may be united, but
they are still prone to being
compared.

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