Hume argues in his inquiry that necessity and freedom are compatible and that the dispute between the two is only due to improper definitions of the terms (Hume 92). The question he asks in his article is whether we are responsible for our actions if all events are necessary. This article will argue that since all events are necessary and we are not free to choose them, we are therefore not responsible for our actions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayHume begins his investigation with the problem of induction. Hume first defines human reasoning in two ways: “Relations of Ideas” and “Matters of Fact” (40). Relationships between ideas are true regardless of their own definitions, such as Geometry and Mathematics. For example, it is always true that a triangle will have three sides because by definition a triangle is a three-sided figure. Facts are based on experience and are all "founded on the relationship of cause and effect". (41) Unlike relations of ideas, they are not true by definition. Since a cause does not necessarily define its effect, any number of effects arising from a given cause are equally logical. Hume then applies this logic to causation, which is a relationship of cause and effect. Although As have always been followed by B, it is equally likely that a given A is not followed by a B (44). Causality, therefore, is not a relationship of ideas but a fact, and is "discoverable not by reason, but by experience". (42) The only experience of cause and effect is that it has been so in the past. However, the only experience of the future being like the past is that in the past the future was like the past. To assume that the future will be like the past based on what happened in the past is to assume what needed to be proven, which is circular reasoning and a logical fallacy. Hume concludes that there is no deductive evidence that the future will be like the past. Therefore, there is no evidence of a causal connection, or as Hume terms "necessary connection", between A and B. Hume suggests that rather than being necessarily connected, causes and effects are instead constantly conjoined; instead of A causing B, the As are followed by Bs (80). There is no necessary bond between constantly joined pairs; it is possible that a given A is not followed by B (85). Our notion of causality arises from habituation: the inference of B given the impression of A (87). “After the constant conjunction of two objects… we are determined only by habit to expect the one from the appearance of the other.” (57)Hume states that "we must apply the same reasoning to the actions and volitions of intelligent agents." (97) All events in nature follow a set of laws and are necessary. Even human action, if it proved identical to nature, would be necessary. Hume states that the idea of ​​necessity arises from constant conjunction and inference, and is based "entirely on observable uniformity in the operations of nature". (92) He believes that the same uniformity observable in the natural world also prevails in human action (94). Hume states that the fundamental inclinations – ambition, self-love, vanity, friendship, generosity and public spirit – form, in varying degrees, every human feeling (93). Also note that throughout history humans generally react the same way to the same stimulus. Hume concludes that, just as effects are constantly conjoined with their causes, so too are human actions constantly conjoined with their motivations. Hume then argues that human interaction depends on the belief "that men...must continue, in their operations, the same in whichhave always found". (98-99) The purpose of human interaction is that, through interaction, one can satisfy one's own inclinations. The owner of a shop offers goods at a reasonable price because he believes that he will receive more customers in this way If humans did not believe in the uniformity of human action, basic human interaction would fail. If the store owner believed that offering goods at a reasonable price would not attract customers but would rather elicit a casual reaction, he would not have. no reason to offer reasonable prices or sell goods. Hume concludes that human beings infer from past experience that human interaction will be the same in the future. Since human action, like nature, is based on the constant conjunction of one cause and its effect, as well as on the inference that the future will be like the past, Hume concludes that human action and nature are one: they are both necessary and uniformly follow internal principles (97). Since human action is necessary "the connection between all causes and effects is equally necessary, and its apparent uncertainty in some cases proceeds from the secret opposition of contrary causes." (96-97) All events that give rise to human action are equally necessary, including invisible forces. An example is a man happy to have found money on the ground. The individual aspects - the fact that someone has left money on the ground, the fact that the man is in the right place at the right time, his predisposition to become happy when he finds the money - all contribute equally to creating a circumstance for which man will be happy. Necessity can predict someone's actions (95). Someone who is known to drink Coca-Cola generally continues to order Coca-Cola because it is in their character to do so. Necessity can also explain character deviation. “The most irregular and unexpected decisions of men may often be explained by those who know every particular circumstance of their character and situation.” (97). Hume states that if we know a man's character and all external circumstances, we can explain all deviations of character. For example, the same man might one day order a Sprite. This may seem unusual, but upon further examination it turns out that the day before he had seen an advertisement featuring his favorite celebrity endorsing Sprite. Hume argues that the necessity of human action is compatible with freedom. Hume defines freedom as "the power to act or not to act, according to the determinations of the will... if we choose to remain at rest, we can; if we choose to move, we can also." (104) Hume argues that free will exists as long as the power of choice is not limited. A man who runs a red light does so of his own free will; a man held at gunpoint doing the same is not. Hume states that the compatibility between necessity and freedom is the crux of morality (108). If a misdeed was not caused by a person's character, or freely chosen by him, the blame would only be on the action, not on the person. Actions reflect a person because they derive from his character, which is defined by his past experiences and freely chosen by him. “Actions make a person criminal simply because they are evidence of criminal principles in the mind.” (107) Actions are governed by character, and character is governed by past experiences. As Hume points out, men are responsible only for actions they perform knowingly and without constraints (107). Hume argues that a man who lends money to his friend is free, while a man who does the same act at gunpoint is not. But Hume also argues that all events are equally necessary. If this is the case, man is equally bound, 1995.