Initial reading show that Hume and Descartes have two very different takes on philosophy with their writings arguing for experiencing the world around us as well-rounded people or as a purely scientific endeavor respectively. These philosophies tend to conflict when discussing the intricacies of people and what matters most in perceiving the world. However, both philosophers can agree to the boundaries that make humans different from the animals we share the world with. These boundaries focus on the conscious thought of man then lead to questions of the importance of sensation and if these boundaries of what constitutes as animals causes moral implications. To first be able to understand where the respective answers arise, the basic understanding …show more content…
The amount of learning animals are capable of does not allow for the understanding of the mechanics behind the cause leading to the effect. This distinction can be drawn by the example of a recent internet fad; people would get their dogs to chase them into a room and then by hiding would confuse the dogs into thinking they were somewhere else. Learning would cause the initial confusion; the dog has lived there long enough to learn that the door should be the one way in and out, however without the ability to reason the animal would eventually leave to find their owner as opposed to knowing they had to be somewhere in the room. This is similar to how young children can develop an understanding of the world around them but as they start out there is no clear understanding of the world’s influences past the immediate response, as seen with infants when playing peak-a-boo. Thus while the animal can learn, Hume does distinguish that animals cannot reason simply because they are limited to staying at the same level of reason as an infant and simply do not have the capacity to develop …show more content…
The world that we experience through our senses; senses that even when thinking are used as reference and are critical to being able to learn. Senses are important even to the point that someone lacking a portion of their senses would be unable to develop the same ideas or understanding as someone experiencing the full range of sensations. The fact that Hume would claim animals experience the same reliance upon sensation; despite claiming it is also intrinsic to the importance of humanity rather than trying to distinguish a difference, comes across as a dedication to claiming sensation is the backbone for