Final answer:
The primary laws of association mentioned by Hume and Hartley involve psychological principles relating to the linking of ideas through resemblance, contiguity, and cause and effect. These laws are fundamental to understanding human cognition and behavior, with Hume emphasizing empirical evidence and sensory experiences as the basis for these associations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary laws of association, as articulated by David Hume and David Hartley, refer to the psychological processes regarding how ideas and impressions become linked in our minds. Hume asserted that this linking occurs through three principles: resemblance, contiguity in time or place, and cause and effect. Resemblance is when one thought leads to another because of their similarity, contiguity refers to the association of ideas that occur near each other in time or space, and cause and effect is the connection between two ideas where one is understood as the cause of the other. Similarly, Hartley's work built on these principles and proposed that all mental phenomena could be explained through associations formed by sensory experiences and the law of contiguity.
While Hume did not directly label these as 'laws of association' in his work, his ideas laid the groundwork for future developments in association theory. Importally, Hume was also deeply skeptical about claims that went beyond empirical evidence, maintaining that the evidence must always support the continuous operation of natural laws without exception.
The discussion about laws of nature, human actions, and the notion of self in the context of these principles show Hume's philosophical approach to understanding human cognition and behavior. By challenging notions of an enduring self and emphasizing the role of sensory experiences, Hume's laws of association become a pivotal aspect of modern psychology and philosophy.