Copy Principle David Hume

Everyone will easily agree that there is a noticeable difference between the perceptions of the mind. David Hume recognises these differences and divides the mental contents into two classes, which are ideas, and impressions. Hume has provided arguments in order to support his claim of the ‘Copy Principle’, which state that ideas are copies of impressions, and every idea is derived from an impression. He proposes this principle, in an attempt to explain how we form the beliefs about the world. While his claim is wildly accepted by many philosophers, there are still problems to his principle which Hume ignored as something insufficient. By analysing sections 2 of David Hume’s “Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding”, we are able to distinguish

Impression is vivid and lively, whereas ideas arise from the reflection of our impressions, and they are less forceful than impression. Impressions on some circumstances such as in sleep, fever or madness are mistaken for ideas, because they are so weak. On the other hand, ideas in those situations are often mistaken as equivalent to impressions. Hume argues that new complex ideas are derived from the combination of simple ideas, which were copied from earlier feelings, or sensations. To support his argument, he proposed the “Copy principle”, which states that all ideas are copied from impressions. Ideas built from impression can arise independently of their impressions, and each of them is distinct from the others. Hume offers two

If someone has seen all shades of blue except one, and they are presented with a spectrum of blue with this one shade missing, using their imagination, they will be able to form an idea of that shade. Since this idea has not been copied from an impression, it contradicts the principle. Hume decline the example as something irrelevant, however we know it is not. If this counterexample of forming an idea of without deriving from an impression is possible, will it be possible for us to form other ideas without preceding impressions? This question is important, because Hume uses his principle repeatedly in his philosophy to test for ideas. I think this is an adequate response, since this sample is so singular. The possibility to unjustify his principle is