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David Hume

David Hume Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous David Hume Quotes

“When suicide is out of fashion we conclude that none but madmen destroy themselves; and all the efforts of courage appear chimerical to dastardly minds ... Nevertheless, how many instances are there, well attested, of men, in every other respect perfectly discreet, who, without remorse, rage, or despair, have quitted life for no other reason than because it was a burden to them, and have died with more composure than they lived?”

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Book:ESSAYS ON SUICIDE AND THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL
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“I say then, that belief is nothing but a more vivid, lively, forcible, firm, steady conception of an object, than what the imagination alone is ever able to attain. This variety of terms, which may seem so unphilosophical, is intended only to express that act of the mind, which renders realities, or what is taken for such, more present to us than fictions, causes them to weigh more in the thought, and gives them a superior influence on the passions and imagination.”

GivingMindMayRealitySeemsAblePassionBeliefCausesTermImaginationFictionTakenAtheismInfluenceObjectsPositive AtheismSuperiorsVarietyFirmConceptionSteadyVividLively
Book:Essays and Treatises on several subjects, etc. New edition
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“Among the arts of conversation no one pleases more than mutual deference or civility, which leads us to resign our own inclinations to those of our companions, and to curb and conceal that presumption and arrogance so natural to the human mind.”

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Book:Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)
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“Every disastrous accident alarms us, and sets us on enquiries concerning the principles whence it arose: Apprehensions spring up with regard to futurity: And the mind, sunk into diffidence, terror, and melancholy, has recourse to every method of appeasing those secret intelligent powers, on whom our fortune is supposed entirely to depend.”

MindReligionSecretPrinciplesDependsSpringIntelligentRegardMethodFortuneTerrorAccidentsMelancholyAlarmsApprehensionRecourseEnquiryDiffidence
Book:An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion
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“On the theory of the soul's mortality, the inferiority of women's capacity is easily accounted for: Their domestic life requires no higher faculties either of mind or body. This circumstance vanishes and becomes absolutely insignificant, on the religious theory: The one sex has an equal task to perform as the other: Their powers of reason and resolution ought also to have been equal, and both of them infinitely greater than at present.”

MindHas BeensSoulReasonBodySexWomenReligiousGreaterTheoryOughtHigherCircumstancesEqualCapacityTasksFacultyResolutionMortalityInsignificantInferiorityDomestic Life
Book:Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (Second Edition)
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“Upon the whole, necessity is something, that exists in the mind, not in objects; nor is it possible for us ever to form the most distant idea of it, consider'd as a quality in bodies. Either we have no idea of necessity, or necessity is nothing but that determination of thought to pass from cause to effects and effects to causes, according to their experienc'd union.”

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Book:A Treatise of Human Nature
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“We can conceive a thinking being to have either many or few perceptions. Suppose the mind to be reduced even below the life of anoyster. Suppose it to have only one perception, as of thirst or hunger. Consider it in that situation. Do you conceive any thing but merely that perception? Have you any notion of self or substance? If not, the addition of other perceptions can never give you that notion.”

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Book:A Treatise of Human Nature: Illustrated
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“...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that, according to the past experience of mankind, friendship is the chief joy of human life and moderation the only source of tranquillity and happiness.”

WorldMindHumansPastJoyVirtueMankindSourceVicesChiefsHuman LifePeace Of MindSensibleModerationReceptionTranquillityPast Experiences
Book:An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
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“The forming of general maxims from particular observation is a very nice operation; and nothing is more usual, from haste or a narrowness of mind, which sees not on all sides, than to commit mistakes in this particular.”

MindSidesMistakeNiceParticularCommitObservationOperationsUsualMaximsVery NiceHaste
Book:An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding ; [with] A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh ; [and] An Abstract of a Treatise of Human Nature
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“... The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom.”

MindIdeasQualityWiseAtheismLimitsGoodnessIntelligentAriseOperationsReflectingAgnosticism
Book:An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding ; [with] A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh ; [and] An Abstract of a Treatise of Human Nature
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“... superstitions, which, being unable to defend themselves on fair ground, raise these intangling brambles to cover and protect their weakness. Chased from the open country, these robbers fly into the forest, and lie in wait to break in upon every unguarded avenue of the mind, and overwhelm it with religious fears and prejudices. ... The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom.”

MindIdeasCountryLyingWaitingReligiousQualityBreakWiseAtheismProtectLimitsGoodnessWeaknessFairsPrejudiceIntelligentRaisesAriseForestsOperationsSuperstitionsReflectingAvenuesAgnosticismRobbers
Book:An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion
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“I do not think a philosopher who would apply himself so earnestly to the explaining the ultimate principles of the soul, would show himself a great master in the very science of human nature, which he pretends to explain, or very knowing in what is naturally satisfactory to the mind of man.”

ThinkingMenMindHumansSoulShowsPrinciplesKnowingHuman NatureMastersUltimatePhilosopherExplaining
Book:A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections
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“The minds of men are mirrors to one another, not only because they reflect each other's emotions, but also because those rays of passions, sentiments and opinions may be often reverberated, and may decay away by insensible degrees.”

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Book:A Treatise on Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning Into Moral Subjects; and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
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“But in many orders of beauty, particularly those of the finer arts, it is requisite to employ much reasoning, in order to feel the proper sentiment; and a false relish may frequently be corrected by argument and reflection. There are just grounds to conclude, that moral beauty partakes of this latter species, and demands the assistance of our intellectual faculties, in order to give it a suitable influence on the human mind.”

GivingFeelsMindHumansMayArtOrderMoralInfluenceMoralityDemandIntellectualReflectionEthicsArgumentSpeciesReasoningLatterFacultySentimentsHuman MindAssistanceSuitableRelish
Book:An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
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“... if you insist that the inference is made by a chain of reasoning, I desire you to produce that reasoning. The connection between the two is not intuitive. There is required a medium, which may enable the mind to draw such an inference, if indeed it be drawn by reasoning and argument. What that medium is, I must confess, passes my comprehension; and it is incumbent on those to produce it, who assert that it really exists, and is the origin of all our conclusions concerning matter of fact.”

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Book:Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)
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“The mind is a kind of theater, where several perceptions successively make their appearence; pass, re-pass, glide away, and mingle in an infinite variety of postures and situations.”

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Book:A Treatise on Human Nature: Being an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning Into Moral Subjects; and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
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