Quotes and anectdotes from the wise to the foolish, and the courageous to the drunk

David Hume Philosopher

  • Gender: Male
  • Born: Apr 26, 1711
  • Died: Aug 25, 1776

David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, diplomat and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and scepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the Scottish Enlightenment, and in the history of Western philosophy. He is the philosopher "widely regarded as the greatest who has ever written in the English language." While Hume failed in his attempts to start a university career, he took part in various diplomatic and military missions of the time. His The History of England became a best-seller, and grew to become the standard history of England in its day.

Hume is often grouped with John Locke, George Berkeley, and a handful of others as a British Empiricist.

Beginning with his A Treatise of Human Nature, Hume strove to create a total naturalistic "science of man" that examined the psychological basis of human nature. In opposition to the rationalists who preceded him, most notably René Descartes, he concluded that desire rather than reason governed human behaviour. He also argued against the existence of innate ideas, concluding that humans have knowledge only of things they directly experience.

The heights of popularity and patriotism are still the beaten road to power and tyranny. patriotism & power

The law always limits every power it gives. power

The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst. best

Truth springs from argument amongst friends. truth

A propensity to hope and joy is real riches one to fear and sorrow real poverty. fear & hope

Philosophy would render us entirely Pyrrhonian, were not nature too strong for it. nature

Men often act knowingly against their interest. men

Nothing endears so much a friend as sorrow for his death. The pleasure of his company has not so powerful an influence. death

Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue. good, great & men

A purpose, an intention, a design, strikes everywhere even the careless, the most stupid thinker. design

Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them. beauty

Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous those in philosophy only ridiculous. religion

Scholastic learning and polemical divinity retarded the growth of all true knowledge. knowledge & learning

Human Nature is the only science of man and yet has been hitherto the most neglected. nature & science

Beauty, whether moral or natural, is felt, more properly than perceived. beauty

Any person seasoned with a just sense of the imperfections of natural reason, will fly to revealed truth with the greatest avidity. truth