Question

Given below are two statements: One is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R):

Assertion (A): Since the perception of hardness is not necessarily connected with its colour, it can be said that all the perceptions seen conjoined but never connected.

Reason (R): Causal relationship is always contingent and probable it is derived from experience.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:

1. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
2. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is NOT the correct explanation of (A) 
3. (A) is true but (R) is false
4. (A) is false but (R) is true

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)

Assertion (A): Since the perception of hardness is not necessarily connected with its colour, it can be said that all the perceptions seen conjoined but never connected.

Explanation:

• David Hume (1711-1776) is one of the British Empiricists of the Early Modern period, along with John Locke and George Berkeley.
• Although the three advocate similar empirical standards for knowledge,  that is, that there are no innate ideas and that all knowledge comes from experience,
• Hume is known for applying this standard rigorously to causation (cause and effect) and necessity.
• Instead of taking the notion of causation for granted, Hume challenges us to consider what experience allows us to know about cause and effect.
• Hume shows that experience does not tell us much. Of two events, A and B, we say that A causes B when the two always occur together, that is, are constantly conjoined. Whenever we find A, we also find B, and we have a certainty that this conjunction will continue to happen. Once we realize that “A must bring about B” is tantamount merely to “Due to their constant conjunction, we are psychologically certain that B will follow A”, then we are left with a very weak notion of necessity.
• This tenuous grasp on causal efficacy helps give rise to the Problem of Induction–that we are not reasonably justified in making any inductive inference about the world. Among Hume scholars, it is a matter of debate how seriously Hume means us to take this conclusion and whether causation consists wholly in constant conjunction.
• Since the perception of hardness is not necessarily connected with its colour, it can be said that all the perceptions seen conjoined but never connected.

Therefore, Assertion (A) is the correct statement.

Reason (R): Causal relationship is always contingent and probable it is derived from experience.

Explanation:

• The adjective contingent can be used to describe something that can occur only when something else happens first.
• A causal relation between two events exists if the occurrence of the first causes the other.
• The first event is called the cause and the second event is called the effect. A correlation between two variables does not imply causation.
• A causal relationship exists when one variable in a data set has a direct influence on another variable. Thus, one event triggers the occurrence of another event. A causal relationship is also referred to as cause and effect.
• Causal relationships may be understood as a transfer of force. If A causes B, then A must transmit a force (or causal power) to B which results in the effect. Causal relationships suggest change over time; cause and effect are temporally related, and the cause precedes the outcome.
• Thus, the Causal relationship is always contingent and probable it is derived from experience.

Therefore, Reason (R) is the correct statement.

Therefore, Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)