Pressing A Finger To The Eye: An Essay on David Hume's Epistemology

Hume's argument, which suggests that we have reason to doubt the knowledge received from the senses, begins with an exploration of the continued existence of objects. He contends that since objects possess a continued existence, reality is not correctly perceived by the senses. As Hume says of the senses, "'tis evident these faculties are incapable of giving rise to the notion of the continu'd existence of their objects, after they no longer appear to the …

…this skeptical doubt, with respect to reason and the sense, is a malady, which can never be radically cur'd, but must return upon us every moment, however we may chace it away"(40) So he ends, like Locke, with the idea that, yes our senses may deceive us, but they are the only way in which we can perceive our reality, and as he says we must "rely entirely upon them; and take it for granted"(40).