David Hume
Exposed the role of habit, sentiment, and human nature beneath claims of reason and certainty.
Life and thought
Challenges certainty through skepticism, habit, causation, emotion, morality, religion, and human nature.
David Hume is presented in the Thought archive through philosophy, scottish, scotland, enlightenment. The recorded life dates are 1711–1776. The profile connects this work to Empiricism, Ethics, Modern Philosophy, Western Philosophy.
The central questions gathered here concern induction problem, bundle theory, sentimentalism, causation as habit, skepticism. Together they show the recurring problems, methods, and distinctions that define this thinker’s contribution.
David Hume developed within an intellectual conversation shaped by Locke, Berkeley, Newtonian science. These names provide context for the traditions and problems surrounding the work; they do not imply simple agreement.
The surviving reading path begins with Treatise of Human Nature, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. The recorded legacy extends toward Kant, Adam Smith, analytic philosophy, empiricism.
Five Defining Theories
The central ideas, methods, and arguments that give this thinker’s work its distinctive shape.
induction problem
A central idea in this thinker’s work, method, and intellectual legacy.
bundle theory
A central idea in this thinker’s work, method, and intellectual legacy.
sentimentalism
A central idea in this thinker’s work, method, and intellectual legacy.
causation as habit
A central idea in this thinker’s work, method, and intellectual legacy.
skepticism
A central idea in this thinker’s work, method, and intellectual legacy.
Life journey
A structured path through the verified context attached to this profile.
Context
1711–1776 · Scotland · Enlightenment
Intellectual formation
The recorded influences include Locke, Berkeley, Newtonian science.
Defining ideas
The profile centres on induction problem, bundle theory, sentimentalism, causation as habit, skepticism.
The work
A reading path through Treatise of Human Nature, Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.
Lasting influence
The recorded influence reaches Kant, Adam Smith, analytic philosophy, empiricism.
In time
Major Works
Texts through which the thinker’s ideas entered the wider intellectual record.
Treatise of Human Nature
This work matters because it carries a central part of the thinker’s method, argument, or intellectual legacy into a form readers can examine directly.
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
This work matters because it carries a central part of the thinker’s method, argument, or intellectual legacy into a form readers can examine directly.
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
This work matters because it carries a central part of the thinker’s method, argument, or intellectual legacy into a form readers can examine directly.
Influence network
Trace the intellectual lineage into and beyond this thinker.
Selected quotations
Reason is the slave of the passions.
Custom is the great guide of human life.
Beauty is no quality in things themselves.
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.
Be a philosopher, but amid all your philosophy, be still a man.
Schools of thought
Empiricism
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Explore school E148 thinkersEthics
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Explore school M23 thinkersModern Philosophy
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Explore school W91 thinkersWestern Philosophy
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Featured Debates
See how David Hume’s perspective changes when it meets another mind.
The Limits of Human Understanding and the Risks of Unchecked Technological Belief
The Limits of Human Understanding and the Risks of Unchecked Technological Belief
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The Role of Habit and Sentiment in Technological Decision-Making
As technology increasingly influences human behavior and decision-making, it's crucial to examine the assumptions driving these developments. The central fault line is The tension between technological…
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Should Education Focus on Citizenship More Than Workforce Preparation?
The purpose of education has long been contested, with different thinkers advocating varying priorities. In this debate, Jyotirao Phule, Neil Postman, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith examine…
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Is Sovereignty a Barrier to Global Justice in Conflict Regions?
In an era where global conflicts challenge traditional notions of state sovereignty, the question arises: does the principle of sovereignty obstruct the path to global justice?…
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